Thursday, January 25, 2007

Springing Ahead, Bookwise

It's that time of year again. It may be cold outside, but you simply can't help thinking of spring when the Publishers Weekly Spring Announcements issue arrives, as mine just has.

As I tell my student book reviewers, this specific issue, like its corresponding one for the fall season, is a wonderful resource for locating some of the "forthcoming" books magazine and newspaper editors most want to make sure they'll have covered. They're thinking ahead, remember; usually, you need to pitch reviews well ahead of time, too. That's not necessarily the case (at all) for scholarly journals (which typically don't pay for reviews) and even for literary journals that publish less frequently (quarterly, semiannually, or annually) than most consumer magazines do.

But a PW subscription is a hefty financial commitment, and because this particular issue is pretty hefty in its own right, it costs $12.00 on the newsstand. So I also share with my students other ways to learn about what's (going to be) new in the book world. I'm not going to spill all those beans right here and now--I am paid to teach them, after all--but I will point you to a post at the Renegade Writer blog that highlights (if perhaps unintentionally) how Amazon.com can help out with exactly that task.

Any of you book reviewers want to share your own tips for locating forthcoming titles?

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