Hachette Book Group Debuts Changing the Story Festival Championing an Inclusive Publishing Future
Celebration featured Robert Raben, Former Assistant Attorney General at the Department of Justice and Emerson Sykes, ACLU Senior Attorney, Speech, Privacy & Technology Project
HBG Authors included Balance’s Melissa Blake, Legacy Lit’s Tiffany Yu, Little, Brown and Company‘s Amy Cordalis, Hachette Australia’s Nardi Simpson and Union Square Kids’ Kam Redlawsk
NEW YORK (September 22, 2025) — Hachette Book Group (HBG) proudly hosted the inaugural Changing the Story Festival: Connecting Global Readers on Thursday, September 18, 2025. The in-person and virtual all-staff festival was dedicated to honoring and advancing HBG’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
“HBG’s mission is to make it easy for everyone to discover new worlds of ideas, learning, entertainment, and opportunity. Changing the Story is a key strategic business pillar supporting this mission, and it aims to align our publishing and organization with the diverse perspectives of the readers we serve; it is imperative that we publish for all, especially those historically underserved by the industry,” said David Shelley, CEO, HBG.
The full-day festival featured dynamic conversations by industry experts including lessons on Hachette’s other strategic business pillars Understanding Consumers, Owner Mentality, and Growth Mindset.
“I’m so pleased to host our first HBG Changing the Story Festival. Changing the Story is one of our four strategic business pillars and its aim is for us to better mirror the world of readers we serve, including those traditionally underserved and underrepresented by our industry. The day serves as a valuable chance to reflect, to galvanize and to celebrate the valuable work of our Employee Resource Groups, HBG staff and industry experts,” added Shelley.
Under the leadership of Carrie Bloxson, Chief People Officer, HBG, the festival was sponsored by all employee resource groups and HBG’s DEI Advisory Board. Additionally, in the last year, staff representation increased at senior levels of the business to reflect our consumers more closely.
“Changing the Story reflects our lasting commitment to advancing inclusion at HBG and across publishing. We strive to amplify a broad spectrum of voices to make the industry truly open and accessible. Our focus remains on expanding opportunity and representation throughout the field, and we’re deeply grateful to Sara Munjack, Director of DEI, for her dedication in helping bring this work to life,” said Bloxson.
Changing the Story is committed to long-term initiatives focused on increasing DEI within HBG and the industry at large. With a commitment to community, it encompasses dynamic programming including HBG’s Raising Readers campaign, a global social impact initiative designed to tackle declining rates of children reading for fun and entertainment. Changing the Story extends beyond HBG workplaces and publishing programs to broader communities of writers, readers, and publishing professionals.
The festival began with opening remarks from Bloxson along with HBG’s Director of DEI, Sara Munjack. The keynote address was delivered by Robert Raben, President and Founder of The Raben Group and former Assistant Attorney General at the Department of Justice under former President Bill Clinton. Raben was followed by The Indigenous Voices in Publishing & Changing the Story Panel, which featured Louise Stark, Hachette Australia and New Zealand CEO; Melanee Winder, Sales & Marketing Director, Hachette New Zealand; Amy Cordalis, HBG author of The Water Remembers (Little, Brown); and Nardi Simpson, Hachette Australia author of The Belburd (Hachette Australia).
Next came the Voices of Disability Author Panel, moderated by Munjack, featuring Melissa Blake, author of Beautiful People (Balance) and disabilities activist; Tiffany Yu, author of The Anti-Ableist Manifesto (Legacy Lit); and Kam Redlawsk, disability advocate and author of Yumi and Monster (Union Square Kids). The Right to Read Program Panel, moderated by HBG DEI Advisory Board member Zoe Morgan-Weinman, included Amanda Vladick, site director of the Bard Prison Initiative; Shrhonda Hart, Bard Prison Initiative graduate; and Daniel Schaffer, Books Through Bars representative. The Latinx Storytellers: Consumer Insights to Drive Change Panel, moderated by HBG’s Chief Marketing Officer Leigh Marchant, featured Alexandra Villasante and Ismée Williams, co-founders of the Latinx Kidlit Book Festival.
There was also a Read Our World Presentation from Nana Twumasi, VP and Publisher of Balance; Marieska Luzada, Associate Publicist at Little, Brown and Company; Allyson Gavaletz, Marketing Director, Union Square & Co.; and Andrea Colvin, Editorial Director, Little, Brown Ink. The event concluded with a Freedom of Expression Fireside Chat between Bloxson and Emerson Sykes, Senior Staff Attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union and closing remarks from Shelley.
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; Workman Publishing; and 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, Threads, TikTok, X.com, Pinterest, and YouTube.
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Press Contact: Gabrielle.Gambrell@hbgusa.com