Focus – Carrie Bloxson

In a bid to make the publishing industry and its content more inclusive and diverse, Hachette Book Group (HBG) signed four philanthropic partnership agreements in 2022 focusing on underrepresented publishing professionals and authors.

We were one of the founding members of Rise Up, a retention programme for mid-level publishing professionals organised by We Need Diverse Books, a non-profit providing resources and support for traditionally underrepresented employees.

HBG also now offers 12 months of salaried full-time work experience, as well as financial support, for one graduate of the Publishing Certificate programme at the City College of New York each year. Mentoring and counselling are also offered to help with the transition into work.

In order to provide the support and resources needed to develop the presence of Black writers, we co-organised the Hurston/Wright Writers Week Retreat at Rutgers University in summer 2022. This seven-day workshop comprised writing classes, networking sessions and talks on jobs in publishing by industry figures.

Finally, HBG also funded a number of scholarships as part of the annual writers’ retreat organised by Lambda Literary, which draws LGBTQIA+ writers from across the country and offers coursework across a number of genres, helping to develop content and expand the audience for LGBTQIA+ literature.

“Hachette Book Group signed four philanthropic partnership agreements in 2022 targeted at publishing professionals and underrepresented authors.”

Carrie Bloxson