News

Reese Witherspoon’s new mission: How she plans to inspire young readers

Reese Witherspoon’s new mission: How she plans to inspire young readers

Reese Witherspoon attends the WSJ. Magazine Innovators Awards at the Museum of Modern Art on Oct. 29, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) Photo: Associated Press


NEW YORK (AP) — Oscar-winning actor and book club impresario Reese Witherspoon is teaming up with her publisher, Hachette Book Group, on a literacy campaign.
Starting this fall, new audio books from Nathan Harris, Patricia Cornwell and other Hachette fiction authors will include a message from Witherspoon urging parents to read to their children at least 10 minutes a day, visit libraries and bookstores and perhaps even form a book club. Witherspoon’s own club has helped boost sales for such choices as R.F. Kuang’s “Yellowface,” Ann Patchett’s “Tom Lake” and Emily Henry’s ” Great Big Beautiful Life.”
The initiative with Witherspoon is part of Hachette’s “Raising Readers” campaign.
“Through community and collaboration, we hope to ignite children’s imaginations and remind them of the endless joy and possibility that reading for fun can bring,” Witherspoon said in a statement released Tuesday.
Witherspoon’s message also will be included in a novel she has out in October, “Gone Before Goodbye,” a thriller she wrote with Harlen Coben.
Hachette CEO David Shelley said in a statement that “We’re up against a lot of competition for young readers’ attention. Having a megastar like Reese to help fly the flag for books is a tremendous asset.”

Recent Headlines

36 minutes ago in Sports

Ohtani tops MLB jersey sales for 3rd straight season. Skenes and Raleigh break into top 20

Fresh

Shohei Ohtani topped Major League Baseball's jersey sales for the third straight year heading into the end of the regular season as Paul Skenes and Cal Raleigh entered the top 20.

38 minutes ago in Entertainment

Mikey Madison will play a Facebook whistleblower in Aaron Sorkin’s ‘Social Network’ follow-up

Fresh

Aaron Sorkin is diving back into the world of Facebook with a "Social Network" follow-up featuring Jeremy Strong as Mark Zuckerberg and a newly minted Oscar winner as a whistleblower.

7 hours ago in Sports

Tigers and Guardians tied atop AL Central with 3 games left

Detroit manager A.J. Hinch knows the Tigers' 4-2 win over Cleveland Thursday night counts as only one game in the standings. However, the victory gave the Tigers plenty of momentum going into the final series of the regular season.

7 hours ago in Sports

AL East race between Yankees and Blue Jays comes down to final weekend of season

All even atop the AL East with three games to go. That means the division title will be determined this weekend by how the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees handle a pair of also-rans.

7 hours ago in Entertainment

Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘One Battle After Another’ brings revolution to the (very) big screen

Paul Thomas Anderson spent about 20 years writing "One Battle After Another." After two decades, it's never felt more relevant.