Hachette UK appoints Ruth Alltimes as Managing Director at Hachette Children’s Group

HILARY MURRAY HILL TO BECOME CHAIR

15 January 2025, London UK – Hachette UK has appointed Ruth Alltimes as Managing Director, Hachette Children’s Group. Hilary Murray Hill, CEO of Hachette Children’s Group, will become Chair, and will retire at the end of the year.

Alltimes is currently Group Senior Trade Publisher, responsible for leading award-winning publishing teams, across multiple genres, as well as overseeing Hachette Children’s Group’s successful licensing hub. She joined Hachette Children’s Group in 2016 and has published Cressida Cowell, J.K. Rowling and Alice Oseman, among other authors and illustrators. In her new role, Alltimes will oversee the leadership of Hachette Children’s Group and manage the children’s board. She takes up the position on 3rd March 2025 and will report to David Shelley, CEO of Hachette UK and Hachette Book Group, and join the Board at Hachette UK.

Murray Hill has been CEO of Hachette Children’s Group since 2015. In her role as Chair, she will support the change of Hachette Children’s Group’s leadership, alongside leading the Raising Readers programme at Hachette UK, an ambitious new initiative aimed at countering the downward trend in children’s reading for pleasure, currently at a 20-year low.

Murray Hill’s publishing career began at Reed Books in 1988, then moved to Carlton Books before starting her career in children’s publishing in 2000 at Usborne. She then held senior roles for Scholastic Children’s Books and Egmont Publishing before joining Hachette Children’s Group in 2015.

During her tenure at Hachette Children’s Group, Murray Hill led its transformation into a modern publishing business, creating specialised genre units and developing a talented management team, with the ambition to publish books for every child and make a commercial success of them. She expanded the children’s list into new areas, particularly in non-fiction and titles for teenreaders, including the publication of Matthew Syed’s You Are Awesome, and the Heartstopper series, as well as successfully integrating Laurence King Publishing and Welbeck Children’s Books into the Group.

Hachette Children’s Group publishes some of the industry’s most beloved writers and illustrators, many of which have become leading international tv and film brands. Alongside nurturing a growing backlist and publishing an innovative frontlist each year, Murray Hill has notably led the growth of the Enid Blyton estate, as well as publishing and supporting two of the last three Children’s Laureates. She also sits on the Board of Hachette UK’s Hely Hutchinson Centre [HHC] for Distribution. In addition, Murray Hill chaired the Children’s Group of the Publishers’ Association between 2018 and 2021, is a trustee at BookTrust and represents Hachette UK on the PA Council, which she will continue to do.

David Shelley said: “Hilary Murray Hill has been an incredible and inspirational leader at Hachette Children’s Group and, in her ten years of tenure, has led the division to great heights of success. She has also been the smartest, wisest colleague and has made an immense contribution to Hachette more broadly as a board member, executive sponsor of various networks, and mentor to many across the business. I’m looking forward to working with Hilary in her year as both Chair and on our Raising Readers project and, from next January, wish her a wonderfully happy and fulfilling retirement. I’ll be sad about losing her from Carmelite House but, at the same time, will look forward to gaining her as a friend outside work.

Ruth Alltimes has been instrumental in the success of Hachette Children’s Group over recent years. As an editor and publisher, her exceptional creative talent is known to all in the children’s book world. I’m extremely excited to see what she will accomplish in this new role, and am looking forward to welcoming her to the Hachette UK Board and to working with her more closely as she charts the future for Hachette Children’s Group.”

Hilary Murray Hill said: “It’s been a difficult decision to retire but it’s time to live my life differently.I love working at Hachette – it has been the happiest time in my whole career – with a magnificent team both in the Children’s division, which it has been a privilege to lead, and on the Hachette UK Board, under David’s gifted leadership. It’s been a similarly great experience working with excellent colleagues on the HHC Board in recent years, too. I cannot thank David enough for his support, insight, humour and advice over the last decade, first as a colleague on the Hachette UK board, and latterly as my boss.

I am delighted to see Ruth Alltimes take on the role of Managing Director. She has been a superb and close colleague for seven years and I know will be an outstanding MD. Her intelligence, decency, huge reserves of energy and unparallelled people skills are deservedly legendary and I wish her every possible success.”

Ruth Alltimes added: “I am so proud to work at Hachette Children’s Group, with the brilliant teams, books and initiatives, and all the amazing author, illustrator and agent talents that contribute to the lists. The past nine years have been some of the most exciting and fulfilling I’ve known, so to have the opportunity to step up and lead Hachette Children’s Group more widely is beyond thrilling. I am extremely grateful to Hilary for her guidance and support since bringing me to Hachette UK, and to Hilary and David for this opportunity, and look forward to building on Hilary’s incredible legacy, working with David and the Hachette UK Board, and taking Hachette Children’s Group forwards in this next step.”