A review in Publisher's Weekly tends to be a book’s first—some of the titles in last week’s issue won’t be on sale until the end of September—and for this reason, the dozens of reviews printed there each week, at about 200 words, are regarded as influential.

A “starred review” is a prize—a guarantee, almost, that booksellers, librarians, and book editors across the country will all take a look at a title when they get the galley in the mail. No guarantee that they’ll go for it—not even editor-in-chief Sara Nelson would ever argue that PW unilaterally sets the tone for a book’s reception—but in a field as crowded as this one, a mere look is a valuable thing.  read more »

As Christmas week staggers on, Publishers Weekly looks back at some of the most striking book covers of the year, pulling ten entries from its weekly-ish "Jackets Required" feature and getting a few design experts and booksellers to weigh in.

Millard Kaufman's Bowl of Cherries, designed by McSweeney's M.E. Eli Horowitz, gets a mention, as does Denis Johnson's Tree of Smoke. Rebecca Mead's One Perfect Day: The Selling of the American Wedding, designed by Evan Gaffney, gets called "perfect," while Alan Weisman's The World Without Us, designed by Pete Garceau, gets "ignorable."

The rest here.

Most of the book industry wants a hotel room and room service paid for by the boss.  read more »