HarperOne To Publish AMERICAN PORTRAIT: The Story Of Us, Told By Us

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- HarperOne announced today it will publish AMERICAN PORTRAIT: The Story of Us, Told by Us on June 15, 2021, part of the PBS documentary series and user-generated-content website. The book reflects a year in the life of everyday people across America in words and images gathered over the course of an extraordinary and historic time.

AMERICAN PORTRAIT offers an authentic, complex, and fascinating portrait of the people who call America home, chronicling themes of family, work, fun, faith, community, and more.  The television series "PBS American Portrait" was produced by RadicalMedia in 2020 as part of the 50^th anniversary celebration of PBS and its documentaries were broadcast in early 2021. The first-of-its-kind project captured the lives of people from every state, age, and background and with a series of prompts asked them to reflect on the country in their own words on the special website created for the project. The unprecedented effort brought together stories from 14,000 people from all walks of life as told in their own words. 

Judith Curr, President and Publisher of HarperOne Group said: "This project grew in significance as it unfolded, since it was planned before anyone knew that 2020 would be so historic. These stories are moving and encouraging in that they reveal that we are much more alike than what separates us. We need this message now more than ever."

Bill Margol, Executive in Charge of American Portrait for PBS said: "American Portrait captured 2020 in a way we could have never expected, giving so many people a way and a voice to express themselves and their feelings at an unprecedented moment in history. And so, PBS couldn't be happier to have these voices and this project collected in this beautiful book, in a way, frozen in time as a record of what we've all been through – the good, the bad, and everything in between."

Jon Kamen, CEO, RadicalMedia said: "For us, this has been the realization of a dream project at an important time in the American story, and we're all incredibly proud to have it memorialized in this beautiful book, thanks to Harper Collins' shared commitment and vision."

AMERICAN PORTRAIT by PBS captures the state and spirit of our nation through stories, words and images submitted by the public in response to a series of prompts including: I was raised to believe…The tradition I carry on is…A day's work is…My greatest challenge is…My American story started when…When this is over…Now is the time…Family looks like…My American dream…I stand for… among others. The book provides over 400 stories from people of all backgrounds, a true portrait of America, and will be published prior to the July Fourth celebration of America.

About the book:
AMERICAN PORTRAIT
The Story of Us, Told by Us
by PBS
On sale: June 15, 2021
ISBN: 9780063098909
Color photographs throughout
$29.99 Trade Paperback Original
More at: https://www.pbs.org/american-portrait/book-press-info

About PBS:
PBS, with more than 330 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and digital content. Each month, PBS reaches over 120 million people through television and 26 million people online, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature and public affairs; to hear diverse viewpoints; and to take front row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS's broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry's most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. Decades of research confirms that PBS's premier children's media service, PBS KIDS, helps children build critical literacy, math and social-emotional skills, enabling them to find success in school and life. Delivered through member stations, PBS KIDS offers high-quality educational content on TV— including a 24/7 channel, online at pbskids.org, via an array of mobile apps and in communities across America. More information about PBS is available at www.pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org websites on the internet, or by following PBS on Twitter, Facebook or through our apps for mobile and connected devices. Specific program information and updates for press are available at pbs.org/pressroom or by following PBS Pressroom on Twitter. More about PBS American Portrait here: https://www.pbs.org/american-portrait/about

About RadicalMedia:
RadicalMedia produces premium content across all media platforms. With offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Berlin, and Shanghai, RadicalMedia is a global media and communications company that creates and produces television, feature films, commercials, live events and interactive design. RadicalMedia is fluent in each and every discipline of storytelling, with accolades that include Oscar ®, Emmy ®, Peabody ® and Grammy ® Awards. Noteworthy programming includes Netflix's first original documentary film, the Oscar-nominated and Emmy-Winning What Happened, Miss Simone?; Academy-Award Winning The Fog of War; Paradise Lost; Hamilfilm for Disney+; Hamilton's America and In The Heights for PBS; History Channel's number one miniseries of all time, GRANT; Black Woodstock, directed by Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, Untitled Mental Health series with Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry for Apple TV+, Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich for Netflix; The multi-platform project; PBS'American Portrait, National Geographic's Activate: A Global Citizen Movement; and David Byrne's American Utopia, directed by Spike Lee, coming to HBO. Check out the latest work on Instagram and at www.radicalmedia.com. 

About HarperCollins:                                                                                                             HarperCollins Publishers is the second largest consumer book publisher in the world, with operations in 17 countries. With 200 years of history and more than 120 branded imprints around the world, HarperCollins publishes approximately 10,000 new books every year in 16 languages and has a print and digital catalog of more than 200,000 titles. Writing across dozens of genres, HarperCollins authors include winners of the Nobel Prize, the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the Newbery and Caldecott Medals and the Man Booker Prize. HarperCollins, headquartered in New York, is a subsidiary of News Corp (Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV) and can be visited online at corporate.HC.com.  For additional information, please visit www.HarperCollins.com

Contact:
Melinda Mullin
415-477-4409
[email protected]

SOURCE HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers