At Lagardère, Hachette Book Group's parent company, publishing division revenue in the first quarter fell 1.1%, to €615 million (about $724.4 million), but rose 1.4% when currency fluctuations, primarily a weak dollar, pound, and UAE dirham against the euro, are taken into account. Overall revenue rose 3%, to €2 billion (about $2.4 billion), but rose 3.8% with currency fluctuations. Chairman and CEO Arnaud Lagardère said that in the quarter, "amid an uncertain geopolitical climate, the Lagardère group recorded solid revenue growth of almost 4% driven by all its businesses and supported by its diversified international footprint."
In the U.S., "amid a market that contracted by 4.5%" revenue grew 2% and was notable, Hachette Book Group CEO David Shelley said, "for the quantity of New York Times #1 bestsellers: James Patterson and Viola Davis's Judge Stone (Little, Brown); You with the Sad Eyes by Christina Applegate (Little, Brown); Abby Jimenez's The Night We Met (Forever/Grand Central); The Housemaid by Freida McFadden (Grand Central); and Kids, Wait Till You Hear This! by Liza Minnelli (Grand Central). We also saw viral success from What Can I Say? by Catherine Newman (Storey/Workman Running Press Group)."
Shelley noted that the company has "a very strong second quarter of releases including 26 Beauties by James Patterson (Little, Brown); Fury Bound by Sable Sorensen (Requited/Little, Brown Books for Young Readers); Birth Vibes by Jen Hamilton (Grand Central); David Baldacci's Hope Rises (Grand Central); Rocket's Red Glare by James Patterson and Matt Eversmann (Little, Brown); Michael Connelly's Ironwood (Little, Brown); and The Land and Its People by David Sedaris (Little, Brown)."
Hachette is celebrating its 200th anniversary this year "by amplifying our Raising Readers initiative, which promotes the value of reading aloud to children and helps provide books to kids who don't have access to them." It's also supplying 200 Little Free Library boxes to underserved areas nationwide and giving children's books to Title I public schools across the country. Raising Readers already has 40 cross-industry partners, and the company is working on more related activities.
In other news, HBG's Changing the Story business pillar "continues to be crucial for us, and GCP's Legacy Lit division joined our Black Employee Resource Group to host more than 150 people at a hugely successful inaugural Behind-the-Scenes in Publishing event with editors, publishers, and senior executives sharing what it takes to succeed in our industry," Shelley said. With Macmillan and Penguin Random House, Hachette has teamed up with PEN America as lead partners to create the U.S. Author Safety Program to offer trainings, consultations, resources, and support for authors facing threats or harassment.