Lil Nas X Will Publish Children's Book C IS FOR COUNTRY

Grammy Award-winning music artist Lil Nas X will publish his debut children's book, C IS FOR COUNTRY, it was announced today by Barbara Marcus, President & Publisher, Random House Children's Books. The book will be published by Random House Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Random House Children's Books, on January 5, 2021. Sara Sargent, Senior Executive Editor, acquired world rights on behalf of the author from David Vigliano at Vigliano Associates and on behalf of the illustrator, Theodore Taylor III, from Carrie Hannigan at HG Literary and will edit the project.

Genre-bending pop star Lil Nas X, who first rose to prominence with his country-rap hit "Old Town Road," brings his signature style and voice to the page in this entertaining alphabet picture book. With bold, bright illustrations from award-winning artist Theodore Taylor III, C IS FOR COUNTRY follows a young cowboy and his sidekick, Panini the pony, as they use the ABCs to seek out adventure in wide-open pastures, embrace family, and celebrate individuality, all during a single day. As a bonus, artwork throughout the book will include surprises recognizable to Nas's fans, adding another layer to the reading experience.

A proud uncle to several young nieces and nephews, Lil Nas X wrote C IS FOR COUNTRY to empower and bring joy to young people. Even in the spare text of an ABC book, his unique voice shines through and subtly reinforces his message of one love and equality as we follow a boy being true to himself from A to Z.

Says Lil Nas X, "C IS FOR COUNTRY goes out to every amazing kid out there who sang along to 'Old Town Road' on repeat and helped change my life forever. I hope this book inspires them and makes learning the alphabet a thousand times more fun. I'm so happy with how it turned out, and I can't wait for the world to see it."

"We're so excited to be working with Lil Nas X on this project," says Sargent. "He's one of the most prominent figures in music today and someone many young kids look up to. With C IS FOR COUNTRY, he brings his usual energy to a New Medium in a way fans of all ages will enjoy."

Lil Nas X is a Grammy Award-winning rapper, singer, and songwriter from Georgia. He rose to fame in 2019 when his genre-shattering hit song "Old Town Road" went viral and became the longest-running #1 single on the Billboard Hot 100. Dubbed "an internationally recognized phenomenon" by Billboard, Lil Nas X and the Diamond-certified song have been recognized with various major awards from several areas of the music industry, including two Grammys and a Country Music Association Award. He is the first Black, openly gay rapper to be nominated for and win a Grammy Award. He has been featured on the cover of Time magazine, was named one of their 25 most influential people on the internet, and was included on Forbes's 2020 30 under 30 list. In addition to being a master musician, Lil Nas X is a social media superstar, with over 12.5 million followers across apps. Find him on Instagram and Twitter at @lilnasx.

Theodore Taylor III is an award-winning illustrator from Richmond, Virginia. By day, he works as web developer. By night, he illustrates children's books, comics, and zines, including Mahogany L. Browne's Woke Baby. Theodore lives with his wife, Sarah, and their son, Theo. You can find him on Instagram and Twitter at @tedikuma.

Random House Children's Books (rhcbooks.com) is the world's largest English-language children's trade book publisher. Creating books for toddlers through young adult readers, in all formats from board books to activity books to picture books, novels, and nonfiction, the imprints of Random House Children's Books bring together award-winning authors and illustrators, world-famous franchise characters, and multimillion-copy series. Random House Children's Books is a division of Penguin Random House LLC.