February 10, 2010, The New York Times
Kirkus Gets a New Owner — From the N.B.A.
By Motoko Rich

Looks like Kirkus Reviews will live another day to praise — and skewer — authors, but with some rather unorthodox owners for a publication with a long literary pedigree.

Herb Simon, the owner of the Indiana Pacers of the N.B.A., and chairman emeritus of the shopping mall developer Simon Property Group, has bought the venerable journal of prepublication book reviews from the Nielsen Company, which announced in December it was closing the magazine.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Mr. Simon, who is co-owner of an independent bookstore in Montecito, Calif., has appointed Marc Winkelman, chief executive of Calendar Holdings, owner of several chains of seasonal retailers, to be chief executive of what will be renamed Kirkus Media. Mr. Winkelman is also taking a small stake in the company.

In a telephone interview, Mr. Winkelman, who co-owns Tecolote Books with Mr. Simon, said that the company would retain its current editorial leadership, with Elaine Szewczyk as editor and Eric Liebetrau as managing editor.
Mr. Winkelman said that Mr. Simon was “an inveterate and unquenchable and voracious reader” who was a longtime subscriber to Kirkus, which was founded in 1933. “The idea that Kirkus was leaving was a real shame for him,” Mr. Winkelman said.

In a statement, Mr. Simon said: “With the growth of e-books and e-reading devices, no one can really see the future of publishing. But turmoil like this creates opportunities. At a time when even the definition of a book is changing, my love of books makes me want to be part of the solution for the book publishing industry.”

Mr. Winkelman, who previously worked for Barnes & Noble, said that the company would continue to publish Kirkus as a print magazine while beefing up its digital offerings. He said he planned no immediate changes to the print edition, but hoped to make improvements over time.

“Over the years, librarians have submitted a lot of comments to Kirkus about things they would like to see enhanced,” Mr. Winkelman said. “We hope to do that and make Kirkus even more relevant in the world of book buying and book reading.”