Comments on: Farewell, dear Kirkus!

By: Joelle

Joelle — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 04:12:56 +0000

I think it's too bad that another review publication is going away, but I do admit to a tiny, tiny sigh of relief. With a book coming out in May…well,frankly, I was a bit terrified of them. Still, I'd rather suck it up and have them still in print because we're losing too many reviewers and librarians have even less time to read books now than ever.

By: N.H. Senzai

N.H. Senzai — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 07:43:28 +0000

Honestly I feel bummed SHOOTING KABUL won't have it's initiation of trial by fire via Kirkus. Warts and wall, it was an important institution –it's dissapearance is rather sad. To those authors with bad reviews, you should check out an article by Stanford Biz School Professor: "Is Any Publicity Good Publicity? A Note On the Impact of Book Reviews" http://www.stanford.edu/~asorense/papers/bookreviews.pdf

By: Jill Edmondson

Jill Edmondson — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 03:29:01 +0000

I was never reviewed by them (but then I have only very recently published my first book).

However, I think it's too bad to lose a respected and established review source.

So many periodicals are dying now. And, there is so much self-serving publicity (Twitter, Facebook, blogs, etc.) these days. Plus we have a plethora of 'reviews' from dubious origins (friends of authors posting reviews online in whatever milieu). All in all, it's a shame to lose a source that may have been snarky but played no favourites and was essentially without a self-serving or hidden agenda.

Too bad.

Thanks, Jill
"Blood and Groom" is now in stores!
www.jilledmondson.com

By: Mindi Scott

Mindi Scott — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:14:15 +0000

I have mixed feelings, too. Some say that receiving a scathing Kirkus review is something of a rite of passage for an author. I've been terrified it would one days happen to me, but also hopeful that maybe, just maybe, I'd have gotten a positive review. Now I'll never know what they would have said!