The New York Times Book Review (NYTBR) is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of The New York Times in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely read book review publications in the industry. The magazine's offices are located near Times Square in New York City.
Overview
The New York Times has published a book review section since Saturday, October 10, 1896, announcing: "We begin today the publication of a Supplement which contains reviews of new books ... and other interesting matter ... associated with news of the day."The New York Times, October 10, 1896. Inaugural book review issue (announced on page 4, column 1) In 1911, the review was moved to Sundays, on the theory that it would be more appreciatively received by readers with a bit of time on their hands.
The target audience is an intelligent, general-interest adult reader. The Times publishes two versions each week, one with a cover price sold via subscription, bookstores, and newsstands; the other with no cover price included as an insert in each Sunday edition of the Times (the copies are otherwise identical).
Each week, the NYTBR receives 750 to 1000 books from authors and publishers in the mail, of which 20 to 30 are chosen for review. Books are selected by the "preview editors" who read over 1,500 advance galleys a year. The selection process is based on finding books that are important and notable, as well as discovering new authors whose books stand above the crowd. Self-published books are generally not reviewed as a matter of policy. Books not selected for review are stored in a "discard room" and then sold. , Barnes & Noble arrived about once a month to purchase the contents of the discard room, and the proceeds are then donated by NYTBR to charities. Books that are actually reviewed are usually donated to the reviewer.
As of 2015, all review critics are freelance; the NYTBR does not have staff critics. In prior years, the NYTBR did have in-house critics, or a mix of in-house and freelance. For freelance critics, they are assigned an in-house "preview editor" who works with them in creating the final review. Freelance critics might be employees of The New York Times whose main duties are in other departments. They also include professional literary critics, novelists, academics, and artists who write reviews for the NYTBR on a regular basis.
Other duties on staff include a number of senior editors and a chief editor; a team of copy editors; a letter pages editor who reads letters to the editor; columnists who write weekly columns, such as the "Paperback Row" column; a production editor; a web and Internet publishing division; and other jobs. In addition to the magazine there is an Internet site that offers additional content, including audio interviews with authors, called the "Book Review Podcast".
The book review publishes each week the widely cited and influential New York Times Best Seller list, which is created by the editors of the Times "News Surveys" department.
In 2021, on the 125th anniversary of the Book Review, Parul Sehgal a staff critic and former editor at the Book Review, wrote a review of the NYTBR titled "Reviewing the Book Review".
"Inside The New York Times Book Review" is the oldest and most popular podcast at The New York Times. The debut episode was released on April 30, 2006 and the show has been recorded weekly ever since.
Editors
2022–present: Gilbert Cruz 2013-2022: Pamela Paul 2004-2013: Sam Tanenhaus
Children's Books There have been eight Children's Book Editors since the position was created in 1935.
Anne Thaxter Eaton and Ellen Lewis Buell
Eden Ross Lipson Julie Just (daughter of Ward Just) Pamela Paul Sarah Harrison Smith Maria Russo Jennifer Krauss
1983 Legion court case In 1983, William Peter Blatty sued the New York Times Book Review for failing to include his 1983 novel, Legion, in its best-seller list. The New York Times had previously claimed that it based its "best-seller list" on computer-processed sales figures from 2,000 bookstores across the United States. Blatty contended that Legion had sold enough copies to be included on the list. Lawyers for The New York Times did not deny this, but stated that the content of its best-seller list is a subjectively editorial compilation. The court ruled in favor of The New York Times, relying on the First Amendment precedent of Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Tornillo (1974).
Best Books of the Year and Notable Books
Each year since 1968, around the beginning of December, a list of notable books and/or editor's choice ("Best Books") is announced. Beginning in 2004, it consists of a "100 Notable Books of the Year" list (Page has links to previous years also.) which contains fiction and non-fiction titles, 50 of each. From the list of 100, 10 books are awarded the "Best Books of the Year" title, five each of fiction and non-fiction. Other year-end lists include the Best Illustrated Children's Books, in which 10 books are chosen by a panel of judges.
1990s
1998
The Notable Books were announced December 6, 1998. The eleven Editor's Choice books were announced December 6, 1998.
Lorrie Moore, Birds of America Russell Banks, Cloudsplitter Richard Fortey, Life: A Natural History of the First Four Billion Years of Life on Earth Alice Munro, The Love of a Good Woman Barbara Kingsolver, The Poisonwood Bible David Gates, Preston Falls Ron Chernow, Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. Richard Holbrooke, To End a War Hilary Spurling, The Unknown Matisse Graham Robb, Victor Hugo: A Biography Philip Gourevitch, We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda
1999
The Notable Books were announced December 5, 1999. The eleven Editor's Choice books were announced December 5, 1999.
Richard A. Posner, An Affair of State: The Investigation, Impeachment, and Trial of President Clinton Annie Proulx, Close Range: Wyoming Stories Richard Holmes, Coleridge: Darker Reflections, 1804-1834 J. M. Coetzee, Disgrace Antonio Damasio, The Feeling of What Happens: Body and Emotion in the Making of Consciousness John Keegan, The First World War Michael Frayn, Headlong Jean Strouse, Morgan: American Financier Inga Clendinnen, Reading the Holocaust Judith Thurman, Secrets of the Flesh: A Life of Colette Roddy Doyle, A Star Called Henry
2000s
2000
The Notable Books were announced December 3, 2000. The 10 Editor's Choice books were announced December 3, 2000.
Jim Crace, Being Dead Unknown, Beowulf (translation by Seamus Heaney) Matt Ridley, Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters John Updike, Gertrude and Claudius Dave Eggers, A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius: A Memoir Based on a True Story Philip Roth, The Human Stain Tom Segev, One Palestine, Complete: Jews and Arabs Under the British Mandate Graham Robb, Rimbaud: A Biography Frances FitzGerald, Way Out There In the Blue: Reagan, Star Wars and the End of the Cold War Zadie Smith, White Teeth
2001
The Notable Books were announced December 2, 2001. The 9 Editor's Choice books were announced December 2, 2001.
W.G. Sebald, Austerlitz Paula Fox, Borrowed Finery: A Memoir Jonathan Franzen, The Corrections Alice Munro, Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage David McCullough, John Adams Colson Whitehead, John Henry Days Louis Menand, The Metaphysical Club: A Story of Ideas in America Peter Carey, True History of the Kelly Gang Oliver Sacks, Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood
2002
The Notable Books were announced December 8, 2002. The 7 Editor's Choice books were announced December 8, 2002.
Miranda Carter, Anthony Blunt: His Lives Ian McEwan, Atonement Lorna Sage, Bad Blood Jeffrey Eugenides, Middlesex Margaret MacMillan, Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World William Kennedy, Roscoe Timothy Ferris, Seeing in the Dark: How Backyard Stargazers Are Probing Deep Space and Guarding Earth from Interplanetary Peril
2003
The Notable Books were announced December 7, 2003. The 9 Editor's Choice books were announced December 7, 2003.
Caroline Alexander, The Bounty: The True Story of the Mutiny on the Bounty Monica Ali, Brick Lane T. Coraghessan Boyle, Drop City Jonathan Lethem, The Fortress of Solitude William Taubman, Khrushchev: The Man and His Era Edward P. Jones, The Known World Gabriel García Márquez, Living to Tell the Tale Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble, and Coming of Age in the Bronx Claire Tomalin, Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self
2004
The 100 Notable Books were announced December 5, 2004. The 10 Best Books were announced December 12, 2004.
Ron Chernow, Alexander Hamilton Bob Dylan, Chronicles: Volume One David Hackett Fischer, Washington's Crossing Stephen Greenblatt, Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare Ha Jin, War Trash Alice Munro, Runaway Orhan Pamuk, Snow Marilynne Robinson, Gilead Philip Roth, The Plot Against America Colm Tóibín, The Master
2005
The 100 Notable Books were announced December 4, 2005. The 10 Best Books were announced December 11, 2005.
Joan Didion, The Year of Magical Thinking Mary Gaitskill, Veronica Jonathan Harr, The Lost Painting: The Quest for a Caravaggio Masterpiece Tony Judt, Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945 Ian McEwan, Saturday Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore George Packer, The Assassins' Gate: America in Iraq Curtis Sittenfeld, Prep Zadie Smith, On Beauty Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan, de Kooning: An American Master
2006
The 100 Notable Books were announced December 3, 2006. The 10 Best Books were announced December 10, 2006.
Richard Ford, The Lay of the Land Amy Hempel, The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel Claire Messud, The Emperor's Children Marisha Pessl, Special Topics in Calamity Physics Nathaniel Philbrick, Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War Michael Pollan, The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals Gary Shteyngart, Absurdistan Rory Stewart, The Places In Between Danielle Trussoni, Falling Through the Earth: A Memoir Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11
2007
The 100 Notable Books were announced December 2, 2007. The 10 Best Books were announced December 9, 2007.
Roberto Bolaño, The Savage Detectives Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone Linda Colley, The Ordeal of Elizabeth Marsh: A Woman in World History Joshua Ferris, Then We Came to the End Denis Johnson, Tree of Smoke: A Novel Mildred Armstrong Kalish, Little Heathens Per Petterson, Out Stealing Horses Alex Ross, The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century Michael Thomas, Man Gone Down: A Novel Jeffrey Toobin, The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court
2008
The 100 Notable Books were announced November 26, 2008. The 10 Best Books were announced December 14, 2008.
Julian Barnes, Nothing to Be Frightened Of Roberto Bolaño, 2666 Drew Gilpin Faust, This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War Dexter Filkins, The Forever War Patrick French, The World Is What It Is: The Authorized Biography of V. S. Naipaul Jhumpa Lahiri, Unaccustomed Earth Jane Mayer, The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How The War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals Steven Millhauser, Dangerous Laughter: 13 Stories Toni Morrison, A Mercy Joseph O'Neill, Netherland
2009
The 100 Notable Books were announced December 6, 2009. The 10 Best Books were announced December 13, 2009.
Liaquat Ahamed, Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World David Finkel, The Good Soldiers Richard Holmes, The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science Mary Karr, Lit: A Memoir Jonathan Lethem, Chronic City Maile Meloy, Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It