Twenty-first-century book reviewing is a strange beast. The advent of the internet has brought with it an ease of self-publishing; an assumption that digital content should be free; the shrinkage of paid column inches; the ability to instantly comment and share; and a swing away from formal literary criticism and towards reviews as customer feedback (a la Amazon). As readers, we are still generating and consuming book reviews by the truckload (check out Goodreads). But where does professional book reviewing fit within our Kiwi media culture?
As part of her ongoing exploration of the place of book reviewing in Aotearoa (as a publicist and reviewer both), Elizabeth Heritage spoke to some key media gatekeepers: Mark Broatch, Books and Culture Editor at the New Zealand Listener; Michelle Hurley, National Books Editor at Fairfax Media; Helen Speirs, Books Editor at the Otago Daily Times; Louise O’Brien, co-editor of New Zealand Books Pukapuka Aotearoa; and Linda Herrick, Books Editor at The New Zealand Herald.
Read on to see what the books editors have to say
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