Christine Ball joins Hachette Book Group as President and Publisher, Grand Central Publishing
Emily Meehan promoted to President and Publisher, Union Square and Co.
Ball and Meehan appointed to HBG’s Executive Management Board
New York, NY (September 29, 2026) — Hachette Book Group (HBG) announced today two new appointments to their Executive Management Board. In November, Christine Ball will join the company as President and Publisher of Grand Central Publishing, replacing Ben Sevier following his promotion to CEO of HBG, and in January 2027, Emily Meehan will be promoted to President and Publisher, Union Square and Co.
Christine Ball will join HBG as President and Publisher of Grand Central Publishing, including the Hachette Nashville imprints. She was most recently the EVP and Publisher of Berkley, the capstone to her twenty-year career at Penguin Random House, which also included roles as Publisher at Dutton and at Putnam. She has worked with a diverse list of successful authors including President Barack Obama, Matt Dinniman, Phoebe Robinson, Emily Henry, Mark Greaney, Jasmine Guillory, Jon Karl, Timothy Keller, Carley Fortune, Riley Sager, Adriana Trigiani, Jason Mott, Grady Hendrix, Nick Offerman, and Jeff Tweedy. She received the 2019 Agents of Change Award from Girls Write Now. Ball will join GCP in November.
Ben Sevier, incoming CEO of HBG, said of Ball, “Christine is an expert cultivator of talent, architect of book campaigns, engineer of author careers, and an experienced leader of publishing teams. I know that Grand Central’s authors and teams will benefit hugely from Christine’s vision, her depth of experience, her warmth, and her enlightened leadership.”
Effective January 1, 2027, Emily Meehan is promoted to President & Publisher, Union Square and Co. (UNSQ). Meehan joined HBG after the acquisition of UNSQ in 2024 and directs all publishing activities across its imprints including Union Square & Co., Union Square Kids, Union Square Gift, Boxer Books, Knock Knock and Em & Friends. Beginning in January, UNSQ which is currently a part of the Grand Central Publishing Group will operate as a publishing division within HBG and Meehan will join HBG’s Executive Management Board.
Sevier said of Meehan’s promotion, “After establishing UNSQ as an exciting independent publisher known for creative risk-taking and exceptional author partnership, Emily has deftly led Union Square through an ownership change and a complicated integration with HBG, shepherding UNSQ’s impressive list of authors into the company and achieving promising results from day one. After two years of close partnership within the Grand Central Publishing Group, I know Emily to be an excellent colleague, a talented publisher, and a visionary leader whose voice on the Executive Management Board will surely benefit all of HBG. I’m excited to see UNSQ take its place at Hachette as an independent publishing division, and I know the group and its people will flourish under Emily’s continued direction.”
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 Peace 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.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Matthew Ballast, VP, Executive Director of Publicity, Grand Central Publishing
917-570-2601, matthew.ballast@hbgusa.com
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