Hachette Book Group Launches “Raising Readers” Initiative

Books by HBG Authors in the Initiative Will Feature a Call to Action for Readers to Help Reverse Trends Showing Steep Declines in Reading for Fun among Children 

NEW YORK (December 5, 2024) — Citing recent studies by the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Center for Education Statistics about the harmful impacts of children reading for fun less often than previous generations, David Shelley, CEO of Hachette Book Group and Hachette UK, announced today the launch of a new initiative called Raising Readers. Shelley welcomed all to join a global call to action in a letter emailed to authors, illustrators, and translators this morning, describing how steep declines in the number of children reading for fun on both sides of the Atlantic inspired the initiative and how authors’ books can feature ways to counter downward trends among young readers. The contents of his letter appear in full below. 

Dear Authors, Illustrators and Translators, 

For the last seven years, I’ve written an end of year letter in the UK – and this is my first year writing to you all in the USA and the UK, after taking up the role of CEO of both at the start of this year. 

I wanted to take this chance to write about a single issue which I think affects all of us, and to make a request. 

Many of you will have seen the very recent research from the National Literacy Trust in the UK, showing that reading for pleasure amongst children is at a 20-year low. Only 35% of 8-10 year old children in the country currently read for pleasure which is extremely concerning. Figures in the USA from the National Endowment for the Arts show a really similar decline – from 53% in 2012 to only 39% in 2022, the most recent year of data. 

Many theories have been posited for this decline, and one regrettably plausible one relates to smartphone usage amongst children, which is rising in inverse correlation to the fall in reading. I know I’m preaching to the choir here, but we also know from a vast amount of research that reading for pleasure in children increases empathy, promotes social mobility, and ultimately increases opportunity. So, as well as being concerned for the future commercial health of the ecosystem of which we’re all a part, the overwhelming concern is that this trend is going to negatively impact the life chances of a great many kids. 

It is fair to say that book sales have been remarkably resilient in 2024 at Hachette and in the industry generally – and book publishing remains one of the most successful creative industries. However, given the trend we are seeing in relation to kids reading for pleasure, we can’t rely on this continuing to be the case if we don’t nurture the readers of the future. Kids need to read for their own enjoyment if they’re to read for enjoyment as adults. 

What we also know is that even amongst prolific adult readers, some of the benefits of encouraging and enabling kids to read aren’t always known – and there isn’t consistently a consciousness about how important it is to read aloud to children in terms of igniting the reading habit. 

So we’re launching a new venture next year which is relatively simple but hopefully will have some efficacy: Raising Readers, which is to include a page at the back of many of our black-and-white adult books, talking about the value of fostering a lifelong habit of reading for pleasure and tips on how to do so. Ideally, this letter would be signed by whoever created the book, either based on a template we’ll provide or in your own words. 

Of course, you don’t have to be included in this venture, and everyone can opt into it. It’s purely voluntary but my hope is that many of you will want to engage. If you would like to be involved please just click here [hyperlink] to sign up…it will only take a few seconds. We’ll follow up with everyone who signs up in the new year with more details. 

The reason I think it could be effective is because across Hachette in all English language markets we sell around 220 million of your books a year (across print, ebooks and audio –the letter will be included in print and ebook formats alike, as well as audio editions), so the reach of this campaign could be very wide. The plan is for this letter to be printed featured in as many of our black and white adult fiction and nonfiction titles as possible. For all other authors and artists, we will be sharing other important ways you can support this initiative and help get the message out there with us. 

In 2025, in addition to trying to reach as many readers as we can for your books, our focus as a company will be about spreading this message as widely as possible. There are many big issues out there for our industry, but this decline in reading for pleasure amongst kids is one of the most serious, especially as it appears that reading for pleasure amongst kids also correlates with socio-economic background. 

In addition to this initiative, in 2025, we will be stepping up our partnership with literacy charities in all our geographies; continuing to legally oppose attempted book bans in the US and elsewhere; and to support the creation of school libraries everywhere. I’d like to thank Megan Tingley, President and Publisher of Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for coming up with this idea and helping to make it a reality. 

I hope you all have a restful holiday season and a great 2025. It’s been a privilege helping to bring your books to as many readers as possible this year, and I hope we’ll be able to continually improve what we do and reach even more people with them next year. And, as ever, please do feel free to be in touch with me with any questions or thoughts you have – I always value hearing from you. 

All my best, 
David 

About Hachette Book Group 
Hachette Book Group (HBG) is a leading US general-interest book publisher made up of dozens of esteemed imprints within the publishing groups Basic Books Group, Grand Central Publishing Group, Hachette Audio, Little, Brown and Company, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Orbit, and Workman Running Press Group. We also provide custom distribution, fulfillment, and sales services to other publishing companies. Our books and authors have received the Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, Caldecott Medal, Newbery Medal, Booker Prize, Nobel Peace Prize and other major honors. We are committed to diversity in our company and our publishing programs, and to fostering a culture of inclusion for all our employees and authors. We are proud to be part of Hachette Livre, the world’s third-largest trade and educational publisher. Visit hachettebookgroup.com to learn more about HBG imprints. For updated news follow HBG on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, X.com, and YouTube.