Hachette employees in US issue open letter after new conservative imprint launched

A group of Hachette Book Group (HBG) employees in the US have issued an open letter to management after a new conservative imprint was announced. The employees have condemned the launch of the imprint—Basic Liberty—as well as the hiring of Thomas Spence, the former president and publisher of Regnery, a conservative book publisher based in Washington DC.

Separately, Alex DiFrancesco a US-based editor at Jessica Kingsley Publishers, a division of John Murray in the UK, has resigned, also citing the launch of Basic Liberty.

David Shelley, chief executive officer of HBG and Hachette UK announced on 7th November that the Basic Books Group would be adding Basic Liberty to its portfolio. The imprint is described as "a new conservative imprint that will publish serious works of cultural, social, and political analysis by conservative writers of original thought". At the same time, he announced the appointment of Spence—also a visiting fellow at the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation—as executive editor of the imprint.

The letter from employees, posted to the Instagram account xoxopublishinggg, read: "As employees of HBG, we stand together in firm disapprobation of the Heritage Foundation, Project 2025, and any conservative movement or thought that strips away sacred rights and the humanity of people. We disavow David Shelley’s unsympathetic and insensitive remarks."

The letter mentioned on the timing of the announcement, and how it came so "shortly after many friends, colleagues and loved ones were left reeling from election results [...] and maintain that the dignity, rights and freedoms of all people should be upheld by everyone, especially those in positions of power".

It continued: "We condemn HBG’s decision to put profit before its own people, to let the promise of financial gain overtake morality and conscience, and to platform a person who contributes to the advancement of the Heritage Foundation’s vision for America. We are calling on HBG to recognise the responsibility it has as one of the world’s leading publishers, to act with empathy and compassion for all people, and to reevaluate its decision to move forward with the creation of Basic Liberty and the hiring of Thomas Spence."

An HBG spokesperson told The Bookseller: "Hachette Book Group’s mission is to reach a broad spectrum of readers by making it easier for everyone to discover new worlds of ideas, learning, entertainment and opportunity. We publish books from all sides of the political debate. 
"Since 1950, Basic Books’ award-winning titles have helped shape public debate through the academic expertise of their authors, the serious approach to how subject matter is treated, and the rigor of its editorial process. Basic Books continues to build on HBG’s legacy of reaching readers of all backgrounds and beliefs."

JKP was founded in 1987, and bought by Hachette UK in 2017; it specialises in books on autism, social work and arts therapies, and more recently in mental health, gender diversity, adoption and neurodiversity.