Hachette employees upset over new imprint announcement.
On November 7, Hachette Books Group announced the launch of a new imprint, “Basic Liberty” and according to a lot of Hachette employees, this is not a good look.
“Shelley said the imprint “will represent a wide range of conservative perspectives, focusing on topics of enduring interest rather than transitory political concerns” and that it will be run by Thomas Spence, who is currently a visiting fellow at the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation.”
If you follow the publishing industry, there are very limited imprints that focus on majority black authors. The lack of diversity is also very evident with the percentage of black faces in leadership positions. With the 2024 election results looming over our heads, the thought of another conservative publisher is a little scary.
Critical Race Theory has been on the chopping block for the last few years. This includes banning books that teach actual black history and other important messages to our culture. If you are tapped into #BookTok at all, you know that a lot of black authors choose to go the independent route because they feel they have no voice in traditional publishing.
It’s good to see that some employees are voicing their opinions.
“Employees said they “disavow David Shelley’s unsympathetic and insensitive remarks,” which were made shortly after the election which left many “reeling” from Trump’s decisive victory over Vice President Kamala Harris.”
Hachette Book Group is the third largest publisher in the BIG 5. While this new imprint doesn’t directly effect independent publishers, it does raise the concern about the direction the industry is going. An imprint backed by the 3rd largest publisher will have access and reach that an independent author will not have. This is why building our network and collaborations is so important. We have to realize the power we possess when we are aiming for a collective goal.
