Kirkus Reviews, pretty much THE source of reviews the general reading public looks to for recommendations, is closing.
Granted, this isn’t the downfall of the written word, but more of another crack in the wall. I’m curious to see the long-term effects of this (if there are any), as many libraries use Kirkus to help stock their shelves.
What does this mean for us? Thoughts?
Nik Korpon
is from Baltimore, MD. He likes to bang on the keyboard until something intelligible comes out, or his head hurts, whichever comes first. His stories have appeared in various places and his first novel, STAY GOD, will be published by Otherworld Publications in December 2010. He reviews books for the Outsider Writer Collective and is a Fiction Editor for ROTTEN LEAVES Magazine. Every month he co-hosts LAST SUNDAY, LAST RITES, a super awesome reading series in Baltimore.
For us, who publish online and through micro and small independent presses, I don’t think the closing of Kirkus, specifically, affects us too much. But, what this implies about the state of dialog going on about books in general is scary. As books become discussed less in the large publications, I think that makes it harder for Outsiders to reach an audience. Not because we dream of having a Kirkus review, but because if the general public thinks that books aren’t worth wide-discussion in print, then that mentality may hinder our attempts at getting a wider audience ourselves.
But then again, we have places like OWC who do just fine with discussing good, underground writing. As long as people are discussing books somewhere, I am happy.
“heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy, and we pray and we pray and we pray and we pray, everyday everyday everyday everyday, see you at the crossroads so you won’t be lonleyyyyyyyyyyyy.” – Bone Thugs N Harmony, The Crossroads.
Hmmm, well I guess more authors will have to work a film option into their publishing contracts because movies still get reviewed, and on television. People won’t need to read anything. They can just watch and listen.
The down side of that is, well, who said “Believe half of what you see and none of what you hear?”
Too early to tell. Have to wait and see where the ‘brarians turn for their info/reviews next, then jump onto that ship, I guess.
The super-exaggerating, apocalyptic side of my brain imagines (because libraries tend to use these as an ordering tool) a library full of Dan Brown epics and Sarah Palin Graphic novels because they’re the only books that are being reviewed. But as mentioned above, books will never die in the hands of people who truly love them.
That quote is from ‘The Strange Case of Dr Tar and Mr Feather’ (or something like that) from Poe.