You are viewing your 1 free article this month. Login to read more articles.
Ruth Alltimes becomes managing director at Hachette Children's Group as Hilary Murray Hill retires
Ruth Alltimes will become managing director of Hachette Children’s Group (HCG) in March. Hilary Murray Hill will step away after a decade as chief executive, becoming chair and will retire at the end of the year.
Alltimes is currently group senior trade publisher, responsible for leading publishing teams across multiple genres, as well as overseeing HCG’s licensing hub, having joined the company in 2016.
In her new role, Alltimes will oversee the leadership of HCG and will manage the children’s board. She takes up the position on 3rd March 2025 and will report to David Shelley, chief executive of Hachette UK and Hachette Book Group, and will join the board at Hachette UK.
Murray Hill has been CEO of HCG since 2015. In her role as chair, she will support the change of HCG’s leadership, alongside leading the Raising Readers programme at Hachette UK, a new initiative aimed at countering the downward trend in children’s reading for pleasure, currently at a 20-year low.
Murray Hill’s publishing career began at Reed Books in 1988. She then moved to Carlton Books before starting her career in children’s publishing in 2000 at Usborne. She then held senior roles for Scholastic Children’s Books and Egmont Publishing before joining Hachette Children’s Group in 2015.
Hachette said: “During her tenure at HCG, Murray Hill led its transformation into a modern publishing business, creating specialised genre units and developing a talented management team, with the ambition to publish books for every child and make a commercial success of them.
“She expanded the children’s list into new areas, particularly in non-fiction and titles for teen readers, including the publication of Matthew Syed’s You Are Awesome, and the Heartstopper series, as well as successfully integrating Laurence King Publishing and Welbeck Children’s Books into the Group.
“Alongside nurturing a growing backlist and publishing an innovative frontlist each year, Murray Hill has notably led the growth of the Enid Blyton estate, as well as publishing and supporting two of the last three Children’s Laureates. She also sits on the board of Hachette UK’s Hely Hutchinson Centre [HHC] for Distribution.
Read More
In addition, Murray Hill chaired the Children’s Group of the Publishers’ Association between 2018 and 2021, is a trustee at BookTrust and represents Hachette UK on the PA Council, which are roles she will continue to perform.
Shelley said: “Hilary Murray Hill has been an incredible and inspirational leader at Hachette Children’s Group and, in her 10 years of tenure, has led the division to great heights of success. She has also been the smartest, wisest colleague and has made an immense contribution to Hachette more broadly as a board member, executive sponsor of various networks, and mentor to many across the business.
“I’m looking forward to working with Hilary in her year as both chair and on our Raising Readers project and, from next January, I wish her a wonderfully happy and fulfilling retirement. I’ll be sad about losing her from Carmelite House but, at the same time, will look forward to gaining her as a friend outside work.”
He added: “Ruth Alltimes has been instrumental in the success of HCG over recent years. As an editor and publisher, her exceptional creative talent is known to all in the children’s book world. I’m excited to see what she will accomplish in this new role, and am looking forward to welcoming her to the Hachette UK Board and to working with her more closely as she charts the future for HCG.”
Murray Hill said: “It’s been a difficult decision to retire but it is time to live my life differently. I love working at Hachette – it has been the happiest time in my whole career – with a magnificent team both in the Children’s division, which it has been a privilege to lead, and on the Hachette UK board, under David’s gifted leadership.
“It has also been a similarly great experience working with excellent colleagues on the HCG board in recent years. I cannot thank David enough for his support, insight, humour and advice over the past decade, first as a colleague on the Hachette UK board and, latterly, as my boss.
“I am delighted to see Ruth Alltimes take on the role of managing director. She has been a superb and close colleague for seven years and I know she will be an outstanding MD. Her intelligence, decency, huge reserves of energy and unparallelled people skills are deservedly legendary and I wish her every possible success.”
Alltimes added: “The past nine years have been some of the most exciting and fulfilling I’ve known, so to have the opportunity to step up and lead Hachette Children’s Group more widely is beyond thrilling. I am extremely grateful to Hilary for her guidance and support since bringing me to Hachette UK, and to Hilary and David for this opportunity, and look forward to building on Hilary’s incredible legacy and working with David and the Hachette UK board.”
