REESE WITHERSPOON TO JOIN HACHETTE BOOK GROUP’S “RAISING READERS”CAMPAIGN AS AUDIOBOOK VOICE
Academy Award-winning actress will be spokesperson of Raising Readers campaign in Hachette Audio books beginning Fall 2025
NEW YORK (Tuesday, September 2, 2025) — As part of Hachette Book Group’s (HBG) Raising Readers initiative, Academy Award-winning actress, New York Times bestseller and co-author of the upcoming novel GONE BEFORE GOODBYE with #1 New York Times bestselling author Harlan Coben (Grand Central Publishing) Reese Witherspoon will voice an urgent message in Hachette Audio fiction books starting this fall. Witherspoon will be the voice of Hachette’s global social impact campaign tackling declining rates of children reading for fun and entertainment. In addition to Hachette Audio listeners hearing Witherspoon’s voice, readers will see a call to action at the end of Hachette print and eBooks starting in the fall.
Listen to Witherspoon’s audio message HERE.
“As an author and someone who has cherished books my entire life, I’m so excited to join Hachette Book Group’s Raising Readers initiative,” said Witherspoon. “Through community and collaboration, we hope to ignite children’s imaginations and remind them of the endless joy and possibility that reading for fun can bring.”
“Our mission is to make it easy for everyone to discover new worlds of ideas, learning, entertainment, and opportunity, and the Raising Readers initiative is a natural extension of that goal with its emphasis on breaking down barriers to books and reading, which disproportionately affect lower socioeconomic, underrepresented, and marginalized communities,” said David Shelley, CEO, Hachette Book Group and Hachette UK. “Reading for pleasure changes lives and we’re up against a lot of competition for young readers’ attention. Having a megastar like Reese to help fly the flag for books is a tremendous asset. With the incredible support from one of the most high-profile readers in the world, we’re really excited about helping to empower young people to read for fun, and to reap the life- changing benefits that come with that.”
The message that Witherspoon voices will encourage adults to inspire children to read for “10 minutes a day,” which studies have shown to have a positive impact. The campaign offers practical tips for combatting shocking declines in kids’ reading for fun. In 2012, 53% of 9-year-olds and 27% of 13-year-olds read almost every day; just 10 years later, those numbers had fallen to 39% and 14%, respectively (National Endowment for the Arts, 2023).
Likewise, there is a significant drop in reading for enjoyment as kids age: 70% of 6-8-year- olds in 2023 said they read for fun, compared with 46% among 12-17-year-olds (Scholastic and Fluent 2023). Underscoring the need to address these declines are studies that show how reading for fun is one of the biggest predictors of a child’s future success. Reading is not only fundamental to academic and professional achievement, reading for pleasure has also been linked to the development of emotional intelligence and empathy.
A successful actress, producer and founder, Witherspoon is also an avid reader who leads “Reese’s Book Club” through her media company Hello Sunshine where she shares book selections with fans each month that centers women’s stories, helping to amplify women’s voices in literature just as she has in film through iconic roles, such as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, Tracy Flick in Election, and Bradley Jackson in The Morning Show.
Witherspoon is making her debut this fall as a fiction author, having lent her talents to writing her first novel, GONE BEFORE GOODBYE, with Harlan Coben, which will be published by Hachette Book Group on October 14, 2025, and coincides with the release of her recorded message in select Hachette Audio titles.
Hachette will launch additional Raising Readers activations and partnerships on both sides of the Atlantic into 2026, with further updates to come about counteracting the crisis and HBG’s goal of improving the rates of children who read for fun and entertainment.
For more information about Raising Readers, please visit www.JoinRaisingReaders.com.
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.
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Press Contact: Gabrielle.Gambrell@hbgusa.com