Hachette Book Group Named Winner of Ragan’s 2026 Zenith Award for CSR
New York, NY (Nov. 11, 2026) — Hachette Book Group (HBG) is proud to announce that it has been named the winner of Ragan’s 2026 Zenith Awards in the Corporate Social Responsibility category for Raising Readers, HBG’s social impact campaign addressing the alarming decline in children reading for fun and entertainment, the single biggest predictor of a child’s future success.
Ragan’s Zenith Awards honor outstanding communications, public relations and marketing campaigns, teams and leaders. Winners represent standout work distinguished by the strategy, creativity and results behind communications that made a meaningful impact. Entries were judged by a panel of communications leaders from leading brands and agencies.
“Reading for fun as a child is the single best predictor of future success – more so than family background, education, or socio-economic status. With Raising Readers we’re trying to help raise awareness of this and encourage everyone to read to the children in their life for just 10 minutes a day,” CEO of Hachette Book Group and Hachette UK David Shelley said. “I’m really proud that the work of our team and our authors has been recognized in this way.”
Winners were celebrated during the Zenith Awards Luncheon on Nov. 5, 2026, at the Edison Ballroom in New York City, where finalists, colleagues, clients, and industry peers gathered for an afternoon of recognition and celebration. Category winners were announced live on stage.
“This year’s winners show what happens when sharp strategy, creative thinking and clear results come together,” said Brendan Gannon, director of marketing at Ragan Communications. “Each of them earned a place among a strong field of finalists. We congratulate every winner and Honorable Mention, along with the teams behind the work.”
Megan Tingley, President and Publisher of Little, Brown Books for Young Readers said, “We are so pleased to have our work honored and hope this award helps spread the word about this vital cause.”
HBG’s winning entry, Raising Readers, was recognized for its success reaching four key philanthropic initiatives in 2026, including providing curated classroom libraries to 200 underfunded schools and education programs in confirmed book deserts, mobilizing at least 200 volunteers to deliver reading or literacy support, launching 200 Little Free Libraries in book deserts with committed replenishment throughout 2026, and hosting 200 author visits to classrooms (virtually or in-person) for immersive author sessions and read-alouds.
About Hachette Book Group:
Hachette Book Group (HBG) is a leading U.S. general-interest book publisher made up of dozens of esteemed imprints within the publishing groups Basic Books Group, Grand Central Publishing Group, Hachette Audio, Little, Brown and Company, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Orbit, Workman Publishing, and Running Press Group. We also provide custom distribution, fulfillment, and sales services to several publishing companies.
Our books and authors have received the Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, Caldecott Medal, Newbery Medal, Booker Prize, Nobel Prize, James Beard Award, and other major honors.
We are committed to diversity in our company and our publishing programs, and to fostering a culture of inclusion for all our employees and authors. We are proud to be part of Hachette Livre, the world’s third-largest trade and educational publisher.
Visit hachettebookgroup.com to learn more about HBG imprints. For updated news follow HBG on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Threads, TikTok, X.com, Snapchat, and YouTube.
About Ragan Communications:
Ragan Communications has been delivering trusted news, training and intelligence for more than 60 years to internal and external communicators, HR professionals and business leaders. Its daily news sites, PRDaily.com and Ragan.com, are read by more than 600,000 internal and external communicators monthly. Ragan’s Communications Leadership Council is one of the fastest-growing membership groups for communications executives, and its conferences, webinars and workshops are attended by more than 5,000 communicators a year. Ragan Training is the leading learning portal among communicators, offering more than 800 hours of training and development for communicators. Ragan is also the producer of Communications Week, which is held each November. Headquartered in Chicago, Ragan has team members spanning the country and loyal customers worldwide. Visit us at ragan.com.
Press Contact: Gabrielle Gambrell, Chief Communications Officer of Hachette Book Group, Gabrielle.Gambrell@hbgusa.com