By any measure, 2024 was a transformational year for Hachette Book Group. It marked the first full year with David Shelley overseeing both HBG and Hachette UK as part of a new English-language management structure. HBG underwent a near-total reorganization, overhauling some departments, closing some imprints and launching others. Some longtime employees left the company, while HBG made some high-profile hires (including former Little, Brown publisher Reagan Arthur). The makeover even spilled into 2025, when some Union Square & Co. employees were let go following its November acquisition by HBG.
As the CEO of HBG and Hachette UK, Shelley oversees some 3,500 employees across two territories that parent company Lagardère said generated 54% of its total publishing revenue last year. One goal of forming a unified English-language management structure has been to share best practices in IT, human resources, and elsewhere. “I believe we work better when we are together,” Shelley said.
The changes at HBG have begun to bear fruit, Shelley said, boosting revenue and profit last year. Earlier this month, Lagardère reported that 2024 HBG sales were up 7% over 2023—the biggest jump posted by any of the groups in Lagardère’s publishing business, which posted €2.87 billion in revenue last year (or just over $3 billion at the current exchange rate). Shelley pointed to the overhaul of the sales department, mixing new arrivals with HBG veterans, as one initiative that helped spur growth. “There is a great team in place there,” he said.
Shelley reiterated recent remarks that the aim of the reorganization is to build on HBG’s strengths while positioning it to reach readers wherever they are, in the formats they prefer. In making new hires, Shelley’s focus was on bringing in staff with a good understanding of what people want to read. He is proud of the work Little, Brown publisher Sally Kim, one of his first hires, and her team are doing signing new authors. “In publishing, if you don’t change you are moving backward,” he said.
HBG now consists of the Basic Books Group; Grand Central; Hachette Audio; Little, Brown; Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; and Workman Running Press Group. In creating the different groups, Shelley sought to give each entity the resources and expertise it needs to succeed in its particular market. “There is no one-size-fits-all model,” he said.
One group that did particularly well in 2024 was Hachette Audio, a success Shelley said indicates that publishing can innovate, despite criticism to the contrary. “We went from audiocassettes to downloadable audio in about 20 years,” he noted. He believes that high production values are critical to the success of HBG’s audio business. To that end, the company has opted to focus on building new studios rather than investing in AI for narration.
Shelley is satisfied with the pace of e-book sales, noting an equilibrium between print and e-book sales, and sees e-books as a good way to get young people to read. While he couldn’t discuss numbers, total digital sales for HBG are believed to be in line with sales at its major competitors, which fall in the 22%–23% range.
In his note accompanying the release of HBG’s annual results, Shelley specifically pointed to HBG’s ongoing DEI initiatives. For him, encouraging diversity is both the right thing to do and good for business. “If you want to reach as broad an audience as possible, you need to have a diversity of experience and a diverse workforce to publish diverse books,” he said. “We would be a weaker business if we didn’t foster a culture of being inclusive.”
Shelley acknowledged that the past year was trying at times. “No one goes into being a CEO thinking it will be easy or without challenging decisions to make,” he said. He believes 2025 will be quieter than 2024: the book market is stable for the moment, and he is encouraged by Barnes & Noble’s plans to open new outlets and the continuing success of the audio format in attracting customers.
He is also feeling more relaxed living in New York City, and in the work he is doing. “I really thrive on helping to make a business as healthy as it can be and helping people do their best work,” he said. “I want to get books to as many people as possible.”
