Getting Reviews

Your
Review Query Process

See lists for reviewers below this article. You will find newspaper reviewers, magazine reviewers and author-friendly Web site reviewers. See the links to other resources for writers pages near the bottom of this page.

Here are some ideas to improve your you query letters. A great query letter will improve your chances for acquiring reviews of your book. See the list (and the hints) below:

• Tailor brief portions of your query to the editor or region you are sending your query to.

• Do not e-mail your query to several editors at once. Give each query the dignity of a window of its own.

• Always double check your information. Requesting a review from someone two years gone (or dead) will not make a positive impression on a book editor.

• Use editors' names when possible, correctly spelled.

• Reserve self-praise to the "just the facts, ma'm." Avoid adjectives.

•  Do not pay for reviews. Generally those you are trying to impress like librarians and booksellers consider paid reviews suspect..  

• Carolyn will edit and critique your query letters for $85.

• Refer to The Frugal Book Promoter: How to Do What Your Publisher Won't for other hints on how to acquire reviews more effectively and how to use reviews to promote your book once you have succeeded in doing so.

• You will find complete information on writing and editing successful query letters in The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success. That includes suggestions for twenty of USA's top agents.

• Utilize Carolyn's blog, The New Book Review, to recycle favorite reviews or to weigh in on your favorite books. You'll find the guidelines on the left side of the page.

• Use the lists provided below but always check to be sure information is updated. In the spirit of helping other authors, please let us know if you find discrepancies.

Contacts to Query for Reviews

Newspapers

Anchorage Daily News, T.C. Mitchell, Book, Food, Religion. 1001 Northway Drive (99508-2098), P O Box 149001, Anchorage AK 99514-9001; 907-257-4200. Web: http://www.adn.com/. Contacts: http://www.adn.com/company/help/newsroom.

The Arizona Republic, 200 E Van Buren, Phoenix AZ 85004; 602-444-8432. Web: http://www.arizonarepublic.com/.

Atlanta Constitution, 72 Marietta Street, Atlanta GA 30303; 404-526-5377; Web: http://www.ajc.com/. Since the contract with their book editor was cancelled, it looks as if this paper's reviews will be handled by outside sources.

Austin American Statesman, Jeff Salamon, Books Editor, 305 S. Congress Avenue (78704), P.O. Box 670, Austin, TX 78767; 512-445-3720;. Email: jsalamon@statesman.com. Web: http://www.austin360.com/ or http://www.statesman.com/.

The Austin Chronicle, Books Editor, PO Box 49066, Austin TX 78765

Baltimore Sun, Michael Ollove, Book Review Editor, 501 N Calvert Street, Baltimore MD 21202. Michael: 800-829-8000, ext. 6223. Email: Michael.Ollove@baltsun.com. Web: http://www.baltimoresun.com/. Sarah Weinman, Mystery Columnist. Web: http://www.baltimoresun.com/about/bal-about-sun-contact,0,2796354.htmlstory?coll=bal-about-storyutil.

The Baton Rouge Advocate, P O Box 558, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588; 225-383-1111. Web: http://www.2theadvocate.com/. Greg Langley, Books Editor. Email: glangley@theadvocate.com.

Boston Globe, James T. Concannon, Book Editor, 135 Morrissey Boulevard, P.O. Box 2378, Boston, MA 02107; 617-929-2000. Email: jaconcannon@globe.com. Web: http://www.boston.com/.

Boston Herald, 1 Herald Square, P.O. Box 55843, Boston MA 02205; 617-426-3000; Arts & Lifestyle: 617-619-6193. Email: newstips@bostonherald.com. Web: http://www.bostonherald.com/.

Buffalo News, Jeff Simon, Sunday Arts & Books Editor, Gusto, One News Plaza, P.O. Box 100, Buffalo, NY 14240; 800-777-8680; Web: http://www.buffalonews.com/.

Charlotte Observer, Jeri Krentz, Reading Life Editor, 600 S. Tryon Street, Charlotte NC 28202; 704-358-5234. Email: jkrentz@charlotteobserver.com. Web: http://www.charlotteobserver.com.

Chicago Sun-Times, Cheryl Reed, Book Editor, Chicago IL..

Chicago Tribune Books, Elizabeth Taylor, Literary Editor, 435 N. Michigan Avenue #400, Chicago IL 60611-4022; 312-222-3232. Email: etaylor@tribune.com. Web: http://www.chicagotribune.com/.

Christian Science Monitor, Google for complete list of editors.

Cincinnati Enquirer, 312 Elm Street, Cincinnati OH 45202; 513-768-8495; Fax: 513-768-8330. Email: jknippenberg@enquirer.com. Web: http://news.enquirer.com/. Suggest you pitch feature stories. They purchase their reviews and run them are reprints.

Cleveland Plain Dealer, Karen Long, Books Editor, 1801 Superior Avenue NE, Cleveland, OH 44114-2107; 216-999-5000;. Email: klong@plaind.com.

Dallas Morning News, Charles Ealy, Books Editor, 508 Young Street, Dallas TX 75202; 214-977-8408. Email: books@dallasnews.com. Web: http://www.dallasnews.com/. 214-977-8222. Jerome Weeks, Books Columnist; 214-977-8463; email: jweeks@dallasnews.com

The Denver Post, Tom Walker, Books Editor, 1560 Broadway, Denver CO 80202-1577; P.O. Box 1709 Denver C 80201; 303-820-1624; 800-336-7678. Email: twalker@denverpost.com. Web: http://www.denverpost.com/. Editors: http://www.denverpost.com/contactus.

Detroit Free Press, Marta Salij, Books Writer, 321 W Lafayette Boulevard, Detroit MI 48231; 313-223-4530. Email: msalij@freepress.com. Web: http://www.freep.com/. Main number: 313-222-6400. Editors: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200551101001.

South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Chauncey Mabe, Book Editor, 200 E. Las Olas Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301-2293; 954-356-4710/ Email: cmabe@sun-sentinel.com. Web: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/. Oline Cogdill, Mystery Columnist; Email: ocogdill@sun-sentinel.com. Features editors: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/booksmags.

Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Jeff Guinn, Book Editor, 400 West 7th Street (76102), P O Box 1870, Fort Worth TX 76115; 817-390-7720. Email: jguinn@star-telegram.com. Web: http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw. Editors: http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/contact_us/contact_list/departments_np1.

Hartford Courant, Carole Goldberg, Books Editor, 285 Broad Street, Hartford CT 06115; Main: 860-241-6200. Email: cgoldberg@courant.com. Web: http://www.courant.com/. Staff writer list: http://www.courant.com/about/custom/thc/thc-news-submit,0,7366803.htmlstory..

The Honolulu Advertiser, Wanda Adams, Assistant Features Editor (food, books, & travel), 605 Kapiolani Boulevard (96813), P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu HI 96802; 808-525-8090; Fax: 808-525-8055. Email: wadams@honoluluadvertiser.com. Web: http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/.. Staff writer list: http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=CONTACT.

Houston Chronicle, Fritz Lanham, Book Editor, 801 Texas Avenue (77002), P.O. Box 4260, Houston, TX 77210; 713-362-7171. Email: fritz.lanham@chron.com. Web: http://www.chron.com/.

Indianapolis Star, 307 N. Pennsylvania Street, Indianapolis IN 46204; 317-444-4000. Web: http://www.indystar.com/. Jane Lichtenberg, Focus Editor and book editor. Email: jane.lichtenberg@indystar.com.

International Herald Tribune, an English-language, international newspaper: 6 bis, rue des Graviers, 92521 Neuilly Cedex, France; (33-1) 41 43 93 22; Fax: (33-1) 41 43 93 32. E-mail: iht@iht.com. Web: http://www.iht.com/. They do not do their own reviews; you may wish to pitch books of an international nature. Doreen Carvajal, Publishing Reporter  

Kansas City Star, John Mark Eberhart, Books Editor, 1729 Grand Boulevard, Kansas City MO 64108-1413; 816-234-4141; Email: jeberhart@kcstar.com. Web: http://www.kcstar.com/.

Los Angeles Times Book Review, David Ulin, Editor, 202 West 1st Street, Los Angeles CA 90012; 213-237-7001; Fax: 213-237-4712. Web: http://www.latimes.com/. Nick Owchar, Deputy Book Editor. Email: nick.owchar@latimes.com. Susan Salter Reynolds, first-books columnist. Staff writer list: http://www.latimes.com/services/newspaper/mediacenter/la-mediacenter-editorialstaff,0,1090476.story. Appear to be mostly interested in literary works.

Louisville Courier-Journal, Keith Runyon, Book Editor, 525 W Broadway, P O Box 740031, Louisville KY 40201-7431; 502-582-4011. Email: krunyon@courier-journal.com. Web: http://www.courier-journal.com/. Staff writer list: http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=contact.

Miami Herald, Connie Ogle, Book Editor, One Herald Plaza, Miami, FL 33132-1693; 305-376-3649. Email: cogle@herald.com. Web: http://www.herald.com/.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Geeta Sharma-Jensen, Books Editor, 333 W. State Street, P.O. Box 371, Milwaukee, WI 53201; 414-224-2000. Email: gjensen@journalsentinel.com. Web: http://www.jsonline.com/.

Minneapolis Star Tribune, Sarah T. Williams, Books Editor, 425 Portland Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55488; 612-673-4414/ Email: swilliams@startribune.com. Web: http://www.startribune.com/.

New Orleans Times-Picayune, Susan Larson, Book Editor, 3800 Howard Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70125-1429; 504-826-3457; 800-925-0000/ Email: slarson@timespicayune.com. Web: http://www.timespicayune.com/.

New York Daily News, Sherryl Connelly, Book Editor, 450 West 33rd Street, New York, NY 10001; 212-210-2100/ Web: http://www.nydailynews.com/.

New York Observer,  (Weekly) 915 Broadway, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10010; 212-755-2400; Fax: 212-688-4889. Web: http://www.observer.com/.

New York Post, 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10036; 212-930-8000; Fax: 212-930-8542. Web: http://www.nypost.com/.

New York Times

Newark Star-Ledger, Deborah Jerome-Cohen, Perspective Editor, 1 Star-Ledger Plaza, Newark, NJ 07102; 973-392-4040. Email: dcohen@starledger.com. Web: http://www.starledger.com/.

Orlando Sentinel, Linda DiBattista, Deputy Arts and Entertainment Editor, Books, 633 N. Orange Avenue, Orlando FL 32801;  407-420-5000. Email: ldibattista@orlandosentinel.com. Staff writer list: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/about/orl-newsroom,0,7441013.htmlstory 

Philadelphia Inquirer, Frank Wilson, Books Editor, 400 N. Broad Street, Philadelphia PA 19130; 215-854-5615; Email: fwilson@phillynews.com. Web: http://www.philly.com/.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Bob Hoover, Book Editor, 34 Boulevard of the Allies (15222), P O Box 566, Pittsburgh PA 15230; 412-263-1601.

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Rege Behe, Books Editor, D. L. Clark Building, 503 Martindale Street, 3rd Floor, Pittsburgh PA 15212 ; 412-320-7990. : 412-321-6460.Email: rbehe@tribweb.com. Web: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/. Staff writer list:  http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/helpdesk/ptrphone-feat.html.

Portland Oregonian, Jeff Baker, Book Critic, 1320 S.W. Broadway, Portland OR 97201-9911; 877-238-8221. Email: jbaker@news.oregonian.com. Web: http://www.oregonlive.com/. Jeff: 503-221-8165. Staff writer list: http://www.oregonian.com/newsroom/mailset.html.

Providence Journal-Bulletin, Doug Riggs, Books, 75 Fountain Street, Providence RI 02902; 401-277-7000. Email: driggs@projo.com. Web: http://www.projo.com/. Staff writer list: http://www.projo.com/cgi-bin/include.pl/aboutus/emails2.htm.

Rocky Mountain News, Patti Thorn, Books Editor, 400 W Colfax Avenue, Denver CO 80204; 303-892-5000. Email: thornp@RockyMountainNews.com. Web: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/.

Sacramento Bee, 2100 Q Street, P O Box 15779, Sacramento CA 95852; 916-321-1000; Fax: 916-321-1109. They use reprint reviews unless a book has specific local significance.

Saint Louis Post-Dispatch, Jane Henderson, Book Review Editor, 900 N. Tucker Boulevard, Saint Louis, MO 63101; 314-340-8000. Email: jhenderson@post-dispatch.com. Web: http://www.stltoday.com/.. Staff writer list: http://www.stltoday.com/help/contact-us.

Saint Petersburg Times, Margo Hammond, Book Editor, 490 First Avenue S (33701), P.O. Box 1121, Saint Petersburg FL 33731; 800-333-7505. Email: hammond@sptimes.com. Web: http://www.sptimes.com/.

San Antonio Express-News, Steve Bennett, Book Editor, Avenue E & 3rd Street (78205), P O Box 2171, San Antonio TX 78297-2171; 210-225-7411; Fax: 210-229-9268.

Salt Lake Tribune  and other Utah newspapers are listed at http://www.xzett.com/pd2/newspapers/utah/state.htm 

San Diego Union-Tribune, Arthur Salm, Books Editor, P.O. Box 120191, San Diego, CA 92112-0191; 619-293-1321; 800-244-6397; Fax: 619-293-2436. Email: arthur.salm@uniontrib.com. Web: http://www.uniontrib.com/. Also web: http://www.signonsandiego.com/. Updated 1/03.

San Francisco Chronicle, Oscar Villalone, Book Review Editor, 901 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94103; 415-777-6258; Fax: 415-957-8737. Email: ovillalon@sfchronicle.com or bookrev@sfchronicle.com. Web: http://www.sfgate.com/. Main phone number: 415-777-1111. Chronicle staff: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/info/e-mail. Updated 2/06.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer, John Marshall, Book Review Editor, 101 Elliot Avenue West, Seattle WA 98119-4220; 206-448-8170; Fax: 206-448-8166. Email: johnmarshall@seattlepi.com. Web: http://www.seattlepi.com/. Updated 9/05.

Seattle's The Stranger,  press@thestranger.com

Seattle Times, Mary Ann Gwinn, Book Review Editor, 1120 John Street, Seattle WA 98109; 206-464-2357. Email: mgwinn@seattletimes.com. Web: http://www.seattletimes.com/. Anne Hurley, Books/TV/Pop Culture Editor; 206-515-5060; email: ahurley@seattletimes.com. Michael Upchurch, book critic; 206-464-8793. Adam Woog, Mysteries Reviewer. Reviews few independent presses outside region. Editorial staff listing: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/contactus/newsroom.html. Updated 7/05.

Tampa Tribune, Kevin Walker, Book Editor, The News Center, 200 S. Parker Street (33606-2395), P.O. Box 191, Tampa, FL 33601-0191; General: 813-259-7711; Newsroom: 813-259-7600. Email: KWalker@tampatrib.com. Web: http://www.tampatrib.com/. For other reporters, see http://www.tampatrib.com/tribhelp/staff.htm. Updated 2/06.

Telegraph Media Group, Books Editor, 111 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 0DT, England

Toronto Star, Philip Marchand, Literary Critic. Web: http://www.thestar.com/. (3/05).

Tuscon Citizen, Arizona Daily Star, 4850 S. Park Avenue, P O Box 26887, Tucson AZ 85726; 520-573-4511. Web: http://www.azstarnet.com/ and http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/.

USA Today  This newspaper gives books some big play but only if they are current or edgy.

Voice Literary Supplement, Ed Park, Literary Editor, Village Voice, 36 Cooper Square, New York NY 10003-4846; 212-475-3300; Fax: 212-475-8944. Web: http://www.villagevoice.com/vls.

Wall Street Journal

Washington Post Book World, Marie Arana, Editor, 1150 15th Street N.W., Washington, DC 20071; 202-334-6000. Email: aranam@washpost.com. Web: http://www.washingtonpost.com/. Jonathan Yardley, Book Critic; 202-334-7883; Email: yardleyj@washpost.com. Staff writer list including other review-oriented ediors: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/interact/longterm/stfbio/wpemail.htm.

Washington Times, 3600 New York Avenue NE, Washington DC 20002-1947; Main phone: Carol Herman, Books Editor. Email: cherman@washingtontimes.com202-636-3000. Web: http://www.washingtontimes.com/.

Westchester Journal-News, One Gannett Drive, White Plains NY 10604; 914-694-9300. Web: http://www.thejournalnews.com/. Staff writer list: http://www.thejournalnews.com/about/contactus.html.

A few other scattered possibilities:

• ausbooks@theaustralian.com.au

• editors@bookforum.com

• contact@bookpage.com  

• letters@phx.com   

• review@bostonreview.net

• news@citypages.com

• hbr@hcs.harvard.edu  

Magazines and Journals

The Cincinnati Review, Department of English and Comparative Literature, University of Cincinnati, P O Box 210069, Cincinnati OH 45221-0069. Phone: 513-556-3954. Web: http://www.cincinnatireview.com. Don Bogen, Poetry Editor
Brock Clarke, Fiction Editor. A twice-yearly literary review of poetry and literary fiction.

Newsday, Laurie Muchnick, Books Editor, 235 Pinelawn Road, Melville NY 11747-4250. Web: http://www.newsday.com/. Arts & Entertainment Editor, 2 Park Avenue, 8th Floor, New York NY 10016-5695; 212-251-6622. Features/Entertainment (Part 2): 631-843-2950. Contact info for staff: http://www.newsday.com/about/ny-aboutus-quickinfo.story. Aileen Jacobson, Media Writer.

Quill & Quire,   (Submit ARC and/or press release.) Nathan Whitlock, P.O. Box 706, Markham, ON L6B 1A7, Canada

Rain Taxi (Submit ARC and/or press release), PO Box 3840, Minneapolis, MN 55403

Shelf Magazine is a new review source. Submit your books for review and query them for interviews. Find editorial submissions guidelines: http://www.shelfmediagroup.com/docs/SHELF_Submission_Guidelines_2010.pdf

Time, www.time.com

Review-Friendly Sites

Submit your query to this Brenda Weeaks at MyShelf. Your review will be considered by a whole catalog of expert reviews who write for the site. You may also find the Have You Heard page edited by Suzie Housley useful for promotion.

Author interviews and reviews in Writer Advice.  E-mail.

The Compulsive Reader reviews books. Find interviews, literary news, criticism, a no-cost e-zine, and more. Editor Magdalena Ball also accepts applications for new reviewers.

Women on Writing is an exceptionally author-friendly and useful site. You'll also find a lovely page they did for me that features one of my first-person essays.

Shirley Roe is the author-friendly editor at Allbooks Review.

-------

Note: Editors come and go, so do newspapers. E-mail addresses change. Please let me know if you fin  errors in this list. In doing so you help other authors.

Other Writers' Resource Pages

 Media release disseminators, content providers, and sites that accept book and author information at no cost: Click Here

 How-to books for writers, reference books and books of inspiration for writers only! Any one will make a great companion to The Frugal Book Promoter and The Frugal Editor!  It includes a list of helpful free e-books and some CDs you can learn tons from, too! Click Here

Contests you can count on, and articles on how to promote with contest. Click Here.

 List of book fairs, tradeshows, conferences and conventions. Your aid to planning ahead. Click Here

 Writers' Conferences: The Big and the Cozy. A list of book fairs, tradeshows, conferences and conventions. Your aid to planning ahead. Click Here

Writers' programs at US universities. (New Master of Science in Publishing listed!) Click Here

FREE Muse Online Writers Conference. Click Here

Digital (print-on-demand) printers. Click Here

For a list of major review journals --including some that review POD-published books--and an article with suggestions for getting reviews.

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