Left-leaning Hachette staff criticize new conservative imprint at publishing group

A group of left-leaning Hachette employees criticized the launch of a new conservative imprint, called “Basic Freedom” — as well as the hiring of a conservative publisher to run it.

The head of Hachette Books Group and Hachette UK, David Shelley, announced on November 7 – two days after Donald Trump won the presidential election – that Basic Books Group would add the Basic Freedom imprint.

At the time, the new entity as “a new conservative imprint that will publish serious works of cultural, social, and political analysis by conservative writers of original thought.”

Shelley said the imprint “will represent a broad range of conservative perspectives, focusing on topics of enduring interest rather than passing political concerns” and will be led by Thomas Spence, who is currently a visiting fellow at the conservative institute. of the Heritage Foundation. .

In their letter posted on the xoxopublishing Instagram account, Hachette employees said they stand in “strong disapproval of the Heritage Foundation, Project 2025, and any conservative movement or thought that takes away the sacred rights and humanity of people.”

The staffers said they “deny David Shelley’s unsympathetic and insensitive remarks” made shortly after the election, which left many “shocked” by Trump’s landslide victory over Vice President Kamala Harris.

In a statement to Publisher’s Weekly, HBG said: “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 possibilities. We publish books from all sides of the political debate.”

Basic Liberty is not HBG’s first conservative imprint. Center Street, an imprint of HBG’s Grand Central Publishing division, publishes “the top conservative voices on politics, business and the military,” its Instagram bio says.

However, the latest announcement has caused an uproar internally with at least one Hachette employee – Alex DiFrancesco, an editor at Hachette UK imprint Jessica Kingsley Publishers – announcing their resignation via X.

Spence spent more than 11 years running Regenery where he bought books on hot-button cultural issues often discussed by conservatives. Those books included: “Uzgwiat: How to Defeat Cultural Marxism in America”: by Ted Cruz.

Spence also published Tearing Us Apart: How Abortion Hurts Everything and Solves Nothing by Ryan T. Anderson and Alexandra DeSanctis; and Abigail Shrier’s controversial book “Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters.”

He also bought Sen. Josh Hawley’s book, “The Tyranny of Big Tech,” after it was dropped by Simon & Schuster after the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol, which many saw the senator as partly responsible for inciting.

Although Shelley’s remarks weren’t exactly “unsympathetic” or “insensitive” in nature, employees took issue with the timing of the announcement, just days after the election.

“We condemn HBG’s decision to put profit before its people, to let the promise of financial gain trump morals and conscience, and to platform a person who contributes to advancing the Heritage Foundation’s vision for America,” the letter continued.

“We call on HBG to recognize the responsibility it has as one of the world’s leading publishers, to act with sensitivity 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. “, the letter concludes.