Hachette UK Launches Raising Readers PSA To Tackle Global Reading Decline Amongst Children

Raising Readers is Hachette UK’s worldwide social impact campaign to combat the significant decline in children’s reading for pleasure, the single biggest predictor of a child’s future success.

Reading to a child for just 10 minutes a day changes their life.

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, David Shelley, CEO of Hachette UK and Hachette Book Group, announced the official Raising Readers public service announcement (PSA) that addresses the alarming decline in children reading for fun and entertainment, the single biggest predictor of a child’s future success. Aligned with the National Year of Reading, Hachette UK has partnered with organisations across the industry to tackle the reading-for-pleasure crisis, including the National Literacy Trust, The Reading Agency, World Book Day, BookTrust, Book Aid International, Booksellers Association, Children’s Book Project, Bookbanks, Bookmark and Free Books Campaign.

The PSA is a call-to-action encouraging adults to read to children for at least 10 minutes a day to help inspire a generation of lifelong readers. Reading for enjoyment has declined sharply for more than a decade, with studies showing the percentage of children who read for fun fell from 53% in 2012 to 39% in 2022. Research also indicates that reading for pleasure and entertainment significantly affects a child’s future happiness and success. More than family circumstances, parents’ educational background, or income, reading affects academic results, emotional well-being, economic security, communication skills, happiness, and ambition.

“Reading, as all of us who work with books know, is an activity that is both fun and hugely mentally and spiritually nourishing. In fact, reading for pleasure as a child is the single most significant factor in future success,” Shelley said. “But we sometimes need to toot the horn for reading a little more loudly – and I hope that this PSA will do its bit to motivate and encourage more adults to read aloud to the children in their lives. I’d really like to thank all the amazing partners across the industry who helped bring this to life.”

According to the National Literacy Trust, children and young people’s enjoyment of reading and daily reading habits have risen for the first time in five years in the UK in 2026, having reached a 20-year low in 2025. Still, children’s reading engagement levels remain concerningly low.

The Raising Readers PSA is a 45-second video depicting a familiar after-school moment: a father offers his daughter a book as a break from her phone. As she begins to read, the book appears to “speak,” and its pages glow with warm light—symbolising imagination coming to life. The film concludes with the duo reading together, reinforcing the campaign message that “Reading Is Golden”, to help children become healthier, happier, and more confident learners.

Academy Award-winning actress Reese Witherspoon and television presenter, journalist and Sunday Times bestselling author, Lorraine Kelly, joined the Raising Readers campaign as audio spokespersons, offering a special message in Hachette audiobooks that highlights the importance of children reading for fun and how adults can take action to spark a positive change in children’s lives.

Across Hachette UK and Hachette Book Group, more than 12 million books now include a message about the reading crisis and the importance of encouraging a child’s lifelong love of reading. By the end of 2026, this number is expected to grow to more than 25 million books across more than 3,000 works.

Hachette UK urges all to visit the Raising Readers website, JoinRaisingReaders.com, and sign the pledge to spend 10 minutes a day reading to or with a child and to access resources to help the next generation become lifelong readers.

About Hachette UK

Our mission at Hachette UK is to make it easy for everyone to discover new worlds of ideas, learning, entertainment and opportunity.

We are one of the UK’s largest publishing groups, with 10 autonomous divisions and over 50 imprints with a rich and diverse history. We are the market leader in e-books and publish a range of bestsellers in audio format, the fastest growing part of our business.

We publish thousands of new books across the group every year and our authors include Rebecca Yarros, Alice Oseman, John Grisham, Adam Kay, Stephen King, David Nicholls, Ian Rankin, J.K. Rowling and Malala Yousafzai.

Our award-winning adult publishing divisions are Little, Brown, Orion, John Murray Press, Hodder & Stoughton, Headline, Bookouture and Octopus. Hachette Children’s Group publishes a diverse range of books for children of all ages and Hachette Learning is a market leader in resources for both primary and secondary schools. In 2022, we welcomed Paperblanks, the second-largest premium stationery brand in the world, to our group.

In 2024, we launched Raising Readers, a campaign to boost awareness of the decline in the number of children reading for fun and encourage everyone to make reading for enjoyment part of children’s daily lives. Reading for fun is the single biggest predictor of a child’s future life chances – more than family circumstance, parents’ education, or income. It impacts academic results, mental health, wealth, communication skills and ambition. Reading with a child for 10 minutes a day can kick-start a life-changing habit.

We have offices around the UK, including our headquarters in London and the Hely Hutchinson Centre (HHC) for distribution in Didcot. We have subsidiaries in several other regions, including Australia, India, Ireland, Jamaica and New Zealand.