Stewart O'Nan on what Shrinking Review Space Means for Writers

The National Book Critics Circle has launched a Campaign to Save Book Reviewing. This post is part of a blog series featuring posts by concerned writers, op-eds, Q&As, and tips about how you can get involved to make sure those same owners and editors know that book sections matter.

For the literary novelist, it's not just that there are fewer column-inches out there. The real danger is that what little space is left is taken up by books which are marketing events rather than works in need of a thoughtful critique (Harry Potter, trendy political nonfiction, a celebrity author's latest) or by genre stuff that's essentially review-proof (chick-lit, true crime, mysteries, audiobooks). If you're not a hoary eminence or the new kooky flavor-of-the-month or a boring, important award winner, you're lucky to get any press at all. It's hard to blame book page editors, since they're simply echoing what the industry as a whole is doing, but for the serious writer, the crunch is on from both sides.




--Stewart O'Nan