Hachette charity cycle for National Literacy Trust

Hachette staff across imprints Little, Brown, Hachette Children’s, Hodder, Headline and Orion last week cycled 25 miles in the rain from Blackfriars to Richmond in aid of the National Literacy Trust.

The annual summer charity bike ride attracted 17 members of staff on Friday (1st July) to complete the challenge. 

The team comprised: Little, Brown production director Nick Ross - credited in spearheading the outing; Grahame Lyus, senior designer at Hachette Children’s; Shyam Kumar, junior contracts executive;  Hachette Group; editorial assistants at Hodder and Headline, respectively, Abby Parsons and Kitty Stogdon; publicity managers at Little, Brown Grace Vincent and Ella Bowman; Joanna Kramer, managing editor for Orbit, Little, Brown; Nico Taylor, senior designer for Little, Brown; commissioning editor  Rhiannon Smith; Graeme Hall, desk editor at Hodder Education; designer and senior designer Sarah Baldwin and Izzy Langridge at Hachette Children’s;  David McTeague, business intelligence data analyst at Hachette Group; Little, Brown designer Jack Smyth; Orion Children's art director Thy Bui; and John Fairweather, production controller for Little, Brown.

The charity cycle has already raised £821, excluding gift-aid, and counting. To help team Hachette reach its £1,000 target, donations are welcome on its Justgiving page here. 

The National Literacy Trust is a national charity dedicated to raising literacy levels in the UK, through community literacy projects, campaigning to make literacy a priority for politicians and parents and supporting schools.

Vincent, publicity manager at Little, Brown Book Group - and one of Friday’s participating riders - said: "There are a lot of keen cyclists at Carmelite house, so the Summer Bike Ride is a brilliant way to explore London, meet new colleagues and also support the National Literacy Trust’s important work. The day itself wasn’t the best weather, think torrential rain rather than July sunshine, but we made it and saw some lovely London sights on the way."

Bowman added: "It was a chance to get to know colleagues outside of meetings; to get to know group colleagues we’d otherwise not have met; to stretch those publishing legs otherwise sedentary from all that reading; and – most importantly – to raise money for a brilliant cause. We proved ourselves a hardy bunch, and had lots of fun doing so. Thanks to Nick Ross to spearheading this great outing."