Editing Publishers Weekly

{{short description|American weekly trade news magazine}}
{{use mdy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{use American English|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox magazine
| title        = Publishers Weekly
| logo         = Publishers Weekly logo.svg
| image_file   =
| image_caption = 
| editor       = Jonathan Segura
| editor_title = Editorial Director
| frequency    = Weekly
| total_circulation = 24,000
<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |editor-last=Batten |editor-first=Donna |title=Gale directory of publications and broadcast media |url=https://archive.org/details/galedirectoryofp0002unse_r2h5/ |url-access=registration |access-date=2023-09-20 |edition=153 |date=2017 |publisher=[[Gale (publisher)|Gale]] |volume=2 |isbn=978-1-4144-8810-3 |issn=1048-7972 |page=1629 |quote='''Circ:''' Paid 24000.}}</ref>
| circulation_year = 2017
| category     = [[Publishing]]<br/>[[Book review]]s<br/>[[Trade magazine]]
| company      = PWxyz, LLC
| publisher    = Joe Murray
| firstdate    = {{start date and age|1872}}
| based        = [[New York City]]
| country      = [[United States]]
| language     = English
| website      = {{official URL}}
| issn         = 0000-0019
| oclc         = 2489456
}}

'''''Publishers Weekly''''' ('''''PW''''') is an American weekly trade [[news magazine]] targeted at [[publishing|publisher]]s, [[librarian]]s, [[bookselling|bookseller]]s, and [[literary agent]]s. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of Book Publishing and Bookselling." With 51 issues a year, the emphasis today is on [[book review]]s.<ref name=pw>{{cite web|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/|title=Book Reviews, Bestselling Books & Publishing Business News – Publishers Weekly|magazine=PublishersWeekly.com|access-date= April 12, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150411183154/http://publishersweekly.com/|archive-date= April 11, 2015}}</ref>

==History==
===Nineteenth century===
The magazine was founded by [[bibliographer]] [[Frederick Leypoldt]] in the late 1860s, and had various titles until Leypoldt settled on the name '''''The Publishers' Weekly''''' (with an apostrophe) in 1872. The publication was a compilation of information about newly published books, collected from publishers and from other sources by Leypoldt, for an audience of booksellers. By 1876, ''The Publishers' Weekly'' was being read by nine tenths of the booksellers in the country.

In 1878, Leypoldt sold ''The Publishers' Weekly'' to his friend [[Richard Rogers Bowker]], in order to free up time for his other bibliographic endeavors.<ref>Beswick, Jay W. ''The Work of Frederick Leypoldt, Bibliographer and Publisher''. R. R. Bowker, 1942.</ref> Augusta Garrigue Leypoldt, wife of Frederick Leypoldt, stayed with the publication for thirty years.<ref>[https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/89034-the-recent-change-makers-at-publishers-weekly.html ''Publishers' Weekly'' @ 150]. ''PW'', Apr 19, 2022.</ref>  The publication eventually expanded to include features and articles.<ref name=baker>{{cite web|website=Wired For Books|url=http://wiredforbooks.org/johnbaker/|author=Baker, John|title=Interview|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312010952/http://wiredforbooks.org/johnbaker/|archive-date=March 12, 2007}}</ref>

[[Harry Thurston Peck]] was the first editor-in-chief of ''[[The Bookman (New York)|The Bookman]]'', which began in 1895. Peck worked on its staff from 1895 to 1906, and in 1895, he created the world's first bestseller list for its pages.

===Twentieth century===
[[Image:Pw06.jpg|right|thumb|Cover of the November 6, 2006 issue]]
In 1912, ''Publishers Weekly'' began to publish [[Publishers Weekly lists of bestselling novels in the United States|its own bestseller lists]], patterned after the lists in ''The Bookman''. These were not separated into fiction and non-fiction until 1917, when [[World War I]] brought an increased interest in non-fiction by the reading public.<ref name=baker/><ref>{{cite book|author=Hackett, Alice P. |title=50 Years of Best Sellers and How They Grew: 1895–1945|publisher= R. R. Bowker|date= 1945}}</ref>

For much of the twentieth century, ''Publishers Weekly'' was guided and developed by [[Frederic G. Melcher|Frederic Gershom Melcher]] (1879–1963), who was editor and co-editor of ''Publishers' Weekly'' and chairman of the magazine's publisher, [[R. R. Bowker]], over four decades. Born April 12, 1879, in [[Malden, Massachusetts|Malden]], Massachusetts, Melcher began at age 16 in [[Boston]]'s Estes & Lauriat Bookstore, where he developed an interest in children's books.<ref name=Miller>{{cite book|author=Miller, Marilyn Lea |date=2003|title=Pioneers and Leaders in Library Services to Youth: a Biographical Dictionary|publisher= Libraries Unlimited}}</ref> He moved to [[Indianapolis]] in 1913 for another bookstore job. In 1918, he read in ''Publishers' Weekly'' that the magazine's editorship was vacant. He applied to Richard Rogers Bowker for the job, was hired, and moved with his family to [[Montclair, New Jersey|Montclair]], New Jersey. He remained with R. R. Bowker for 45 years.<ref name=Miller/>

While at ''Publishers Weekly'', Melcher began creating space in the publication and a number of issues dedicated solely to books for children.<ref>{{cite news|author=Hansen, Harry |date=1945|title=On the Best Definition of an Editor's Usefulness|editor-first= Mildred |editor-last= Smith |work=Frederic G. Melcher: Friendly Reminiscences of a Half Century Among Books and Bookmen|pages= 24–28|location= New York|publisher= The Book Publishers' Bureau}}</ref> In 1919, he teamed with Franklin K. Mathiews, librarian for the [[Boy Scouts of America]], and [[Anne Carroll Moore]], a librarian at the [[New York Public Library]], to create [[Children's Book Week]].<ref name=Miller/>

When Bowker died in 1933, Melcher succeeded him as president of the company; he resigned in 1959 to become chairman of the board of directors.<ref name=baker/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/unitarians/melcher.html|title=Frederic G. Melcher|work=Library Journal|date=April 1, 1963|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090821121853/http://www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/unitarians/melcher.html|archive-date=August 21, 2009}}</ref>

In 1943, ''Publishers Weekly'' created the Carey–Thomas Award for creative publishing, naming it in honor of [[Mathew Carey]] and [[Isaiah Thomas (publisher)|Isaiah Thomas]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,774310,00.html|title=Publishers' Oscar|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=February 15, 1943|access-date=December 2, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121207220540/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,774310,00.html|archive-date=December 7, 2012}}</ref>

For most of its history, ''Publishers Weekly,'' along with the ''[[Library Journal]]''-related titles, were owned by founding publisher R. R. Bowker. When [[Reed Business Information|Reed Publishing]] purchased Bowker from [[Xerox]] in 1985, it placed ''Publishers Weekly'' under the management of its Boston-based Cahners Publishing Company, the trade publishing empire founded by Norman Cahners, which Reed Publishing had purchased in 1977.

The merger of Reed with the [[Netherlands]]-based Elsevier in 1993 led to many Cahners cutbacks amid takeover turmoil. Nora Rawlinson, who once headed a $4 million book selection budget at the [[Baltimore County, Maryland|Baltimore County]] Library System, edited ''Library Journal'' for four years prior to becoming editor-in-chief of ''Publishers Weekly'' in 1992, where he served until 2005.

===Twenty-first century===
In 2005, the magazine came under the direction of a new editor-in-chief, veteran book reviewer [[Sara Nelson (editor)|Sara Nelson]], known for publishing columns in the ''[[New York Post]]'' and ''[[The New York Observer]]''.<ref name=twsOctJ15>{{cite news|first=Motoko|last=Rich|title=Top Editor at Publishers Weekly Is Laid Off|newspaper=The New York Times|quote=Sara Nelson, ... who was previously a publishing columnist for The New York Post and worked at The New York Observer|date=January 26, 2009|url=http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/26/top-editor-at-publishers-weekly-is-laid-off/|access-date=October 5, 2010|archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20101007013944/http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/26/top-editor-at-publishers-weekly-is-laid-off/|archive-date=October 7, 2010}}</ref>
Nelson began to modernize ''Publishers Weekly'' with new features and a makeover by illustrator and graphic designer [[Jean-Claude Suares]].  The switch to a simple abbreviated logo of initials effectively changed the name of the magazine to ''PW'', the name long used for the magazine within the book industry.<ref name=pw/>

She also introduced the magazine's short-lived [[Quill Award]]s, with nominees in 19 categories selected by a nominating board of 6,000 booksellers and librarians. Winners were determined by the reading public, who could vote at kiosks in [[Borders (retailer)|Borders]] stores or online at the Quills site. Reed Business dropped the Quill Awards in 2008.<ref name="NYT">{{cite news|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/27/arts/27arts-QUILLAWARDSA_BRF.html?_r=1&ref=arts&oref=slogin|title= Quill Awards Are Ended|newspaper= The New York Times|date= February 27, 2008|url-status= live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180428160734/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/27/arts/27arts-QUILLAWARDSA_BRF.html?_r=1&ref=arts&oref=slogin|archive-date= April 28, 2018}}</ref>

Since 1872, the front covers of ''Publishers Weekly'' were used to display advertisements by book publishers. ''PW'' editorial covers now feature illustrations and author photographs tied to interior articles, these covers follow the front cover advertisement. The visual motif of each cover is sometimes repeated on the contents page.<ref name=pw/>

The Nelson years were marked by turbulence within the industry as well as a continuing trend away from serious writing and towards [[popular culture|pop culture]]. ''Publishers Weekly'' has enjoyed a near monopoly over the past decades, but now with vigorous competition from Internet sites, e-mail newsletters, and daily newspapers.<ref name=twsOctJ31>{{cite news|first=Edward|last=Wyatt|title=The Winds of Change Are Felt at Publishers Weekly|newspaper=The New York Times|date=January 5, 2005|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C04EED91339F936A35752C0A9639C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all|access-date=October 5, 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302170141/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C04EED91339F936A35752C0A9639C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all|archive-date=March 2, 2012}}</ref>

In 2008, faced with a decline in advertising support, Reed's management sought a new direction. In January 2009, Sara Nelson was dismissed along with executive editor Daisy Maryles, who had been with ''PW'' for more than four decades. Stepping in as editorial director was Brian Kenney, editorial director of ''[[School Library Journal]]'' and ''Library Journal''.<ref name=pw/> The dismissals, which sent shockwaves through the industry, were widely covered in newspapers.<ref name=twsOctJ22>{{cite news|first=Staci D.|last=Kramer|title=Reed Tightens The Belt Again: Layoffs Hit Variety, Multichannel, PW; Wage Freeze; B&C Shrinking|newspaper=The Washington Post|quote=At {{sic|''Publishe|r's Weekly''}}, the layoffs include Sara Nelson, editor-in-chief...|date=January 27, 2009|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/26/AR2009012602002.html|access-date=October 5, 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111125321/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/26/AR2009012602002.html|archive-date=November 11, 2012}}</ref>

In April 2010, George W. Slowik Jr., a former publisher of the magazine, purchased ''Publishers Weekly'' from Reed Business Information, under the company PWxyz, LLC. Cevin Bryerman remained as publisher along with co-editors Jim Milliot and Michael Coffey.<ref name=pw/>

On September 22, 2011, ''PW'' began a series of weekly podcasts: "Beyond the Book: PW's Week Ahead".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://beyondthebookcast.com/tag/publishers-weekly/page/3/|title=Publishers Weekly – CCC's Beyond the Book – Part 3|work=beyondthebookcast.com|access-date= April 12, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20150412163900/http://beyondthebookcast.com/tag/publishers-weekly/page/3/|archive-date= April 12, 2015}}</ref>

In 2019, ''[[The Millions]]'' was acquired by PWxyz.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Rosenfield |first=Kat |date=2019-01-09 |title=The Millions Will Live on, But the Indie Book Blog Is Dead |url=https://www.vulture.com/2019/01/the-millions-was-the-last-great-indie-book-blog.html |magazine=[[Vulture (magazine)|Vulture]] |accessdate=2022-06-13 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220613080440/https://www.vulture.com/2019/01/the-millions-was-the-last-great-indie-book-blog.html |archivedate=2022-06-13 }}</ref>

''PW'' maintains an online archive of past book reviews from January 1991 to the present.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/archives/index.html|title=Book Reviews, Bestselling Books & Publishing Business News – Publishers Weekly|work=PublishersWeekly.com|access-date= April 12, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402054545/http://publishersweekly.com/pw/archives/index.html|archive-date= April 2, 2015}}</ref> The earliest articles posted in ''PW''{{'}}s online archive date back to November 1995. A redesigned website was unveiled on May 10, 2010.<ref name=pw/>

==Features==
===Writers and readers===
In 2008, the magazine's circulation was 25,000. In 2004, the breakdown of those 25,000 readers was given as 6000 publishers; 5500 public libraries and public library systems; 3800 booksellers; 1600 authors and writers; 1500 college and university libraries; 950 print, film and broad media; and 750 literary and rights agents, among others.

Subject areas covered by ''Publishers Weekly'' include publishing, bookselling, marketing, merchandising and trade news, along with author interviews and regular columns on rights, people in publishing, and bestsellers. It attempts to serve all involved in the creation, production, marketing and sale of the written word in book, audio, video and electronic formats. The magazine increases the page count considerably for four annual special issues: Spring Adult Announcements, Fall Adult Announcements, Spring Children's Announcements, and Fall Children's Announcements.<ref name=pw/>

===Book reviews===
The book review section of ''Publishers Weekly'' was added in the early 1940s and grew in importance during the 20th century and through the present day.{{when|date=July 2022}} It currently offers prepublication reviews of 9,000 new trade books each year, in a comprehensive range of genres and including [[audiobook]]s and [[ebook]]s, with a digitized archive of 200,000 reviews. Reviews appear two to four months prior to the publication date of a book, and until 2014, when ''PW'' launched BookLife.com, a website for self-published books, books already in print were seldom reviewed.<ref>{{Cite web|title=BookLife – Resources and tools for book publishers and writers|url=http://booklife.com/|access-date=August 21, 2020|website=booklife.com}}</ref>

These anonymous reviews are short, averaging 200–250 words, and it is not unusual for the review section to run as long as 40 pages, filling the second half of the magazine. In the past, a book review editorial staff of eight editors assigned books to more than 100 freelance reviewers. Some are published authors, and others are experts in specific genres or subjects. Although it might take a week or more to read and analyze some books, reviewers were paid $45 per review until June 2008, when the magazine introduced a reduction in payment to $25 a review. In a further policy change that month, reviewers received credit as contributors in issues carrying their reviews. Currently, there are nine reviews editors listed in the masthead.
 
Now titled "Reviews", the review section began life as "Forecasts". For several years, that title was taken literally; reviews were followed with italicized comments that attempted to predict a book's sales success. Genevieve Stuttaford, who greatly expanded the number of reviews during her tenure as the nonfiction "Forecasts" editor, joined the ''PW'' staff in 1975. Previously, she was a ''[[Saturday Review (U.S. magazine)|Saturday Review]]'' associate editor, reviewer for ''[[Kirkus Reviews]]'' and for 12 years on the staff of the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]''. During the 23 years Stuttaford was with ''Publishers Weekly'', book reviewing was increased from an average of 3,800 titles a year in the 1970s to well over 6,500 titles in 1997. She retired in 1998.<ref name=pw/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/19980713/38002-pw-stuttaford-retires-from-pw.html|title=PW: Stuttaford Retires From 'PW'|magazine=Publishers Weekly|volume=244 |issue=28|date=July 13, 1998|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161013122936/http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/19980713/38002-pw-stuttaford-retires-from-pw.html|archive-date=October 13, 2016}}</ref>

Several notable ''PW'' editors stand out for making their mark on the magazine. Barbara Bannon was the head fiction reviewer during the 1970s and early 1980s, becoming the magazine's executive editor during that time and retiring in 1983. She was, notably, the first reviewer to insist that her name be appended to any [[blurb]] of her reviews, thus drawing attention to herself, to the review and to the influence of the magazine in predicting a book's popularity and salability.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/05/obituaries/barbara-a-bannon-editor-67.html|title=Barbara A. Bannon; Editor, 67|date= April 5, 1991|newspaper=The New York Times|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305002932/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/05/obituaries/barbara-a-bannon-editor-67.html|archive-date= March 5, 2017}}</ref>

Sybil Steinberg came to ''Publishers Weekly'' in the mid-1970s and served as a reviews editor for 30 years, taking over after Barbara Bannon retired. Under Steinberg, ''PW'' instituted the starred review, a first in the industry, to indicate books of exceptional merit. She also called out particular books of merit by starting the practice of boxed reviews, a precursor to the ''PW'' "signature reviews", boxed reviews that are attributed to the reviewer. The "Best Books" lists were also Steinberg's brainchild, and these lists are still published annually, usually in November ahead of "Best Books" lists from ''[[The New York Times]]'' and other prominent review venues. Steinberg edited the magazine's author interviews, and beginning in 1992 put together four anthologies of them in book form, published by the [[Pushcart Press]].
 
Formerly of ''[[InStyle]]'' magazine, novelist Louisa Ermelino took the reins of the ''PW'' review section in 2005. Under her watch, the number of reviews grew once again, to nearly 9,000 per year from 6,500.{{citation needed|date=September 2018}}

In a sea change for the magazine, Ermelino oversaw the integration of self-published book reviews into the main review section of the magazine. Review editors vet and assign self-published books for review, which reviews are then published alongside the reviews of traditionally published books each week in the magazine.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://booklife.com/about-us/reviews-faqs.html|title=Reviews FAQs|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160619120401/http://booklife.com/about-us/reviews-faqs.html|archive-date=June 19, 2016}}</ref>
 
''Publishers Weekly'' does charge for self-published book reviews following the trend within the industry led by ''Kirkus Reviews'' and ''Foreword''{{'}}s Clarion fee-for-review service, both of which offer independent book reviews in exchange for fees in the hundreds of dollars.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/indie-reviews/how-it-works/|title=Kirkus Indie Reviews|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919054625/https://www.kirkusreviews.com/indie-reviews/how-it-works/|archive-date=September 19, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://booklife.com/about-us/how-to-submit-your-book-to-booklife-reviews-and-publishers-weekly.html|title=How to Submit Your Book to BookLife Reviews and Publishers Weekly}} from  booklife.com on December 6, 2024.</ref> 


''Publishers Weekly'' does syndicate its reviews to a variety of online retail venues such as [[Amazon.com|Amazon]], [[Apple Books]], Powell's Books, [[Books-a-Million]], and others. The reviews are also carried by library database services such as [[Baker & Taylor|Baker and Taylor]], [[ProQuest]], [[Bowker]], [[Cengage]], [[EBSCO Information Services|EBSCO]], and others.

==See also==
* [[Publishers Weekly list of bestselling novels in the United States in the 2010s|''Publishers Weekly'' list of bestselling novels in the United States in the 2010s]], or the decades before
* ''[[Booklist]]''
* ''[[Editor & Publisher]]''
* ''[[San Francisco Review of Books]]''
* [[Books in the United States]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Further reading ==

{{Refbegin}}

* {{Cite book |last1=Haines |first1=Helen E. |title=Living with Books: The Art of Book Selection |date=1957 |url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.126407 |location=New York |publisher=Columbia University Press |language=en |df=mdy-all |chapter=Daily Help for Daily Needs |oclc=580015 }}<!-- "Where the Booklist and the Book Review Digest are selective, the Publishers' Weekly record is in clusive, or as inclusive as such a record can be made." -->

{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Official website}}
* [http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000674605 ''Publishers Weekly''] at [[HathiTrust]]
* [https://archive.org/details/pub_publishers-weekly?sort=-date ''Publishers Weekly''] at the [[Internet Archive]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070312010952/http://wiredforbooks.org/johnbaker/ 1991 John Baker interview] at Wired for Books
* [https://charlierose.com/videos/7647 1996]/[https://charlierose.com/videos/12466 1997]: Sybil Steinberg on ''[[Charlie Rose (talk show)|Charlie Rose]]''
* [https://findingaids.library.columbia.edu/archives/cul-6570018 ''Publishers Weekly'' records, 1909-2007] at [[Columbia University Libraries]]

[[Category:Book review magazines published in the United States]]
[[Category:Works about book publishing and bookselling]]
[[Category:Magazines published in New York City]]
[[Category:News magazines published in the United States]]
[[Category:Professional and trade magazines]]
[[Category:Weekly magazines published in the United States]]
[[Category:1872 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:Magazines established in 1872]]