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End of Kirkus Reviews Brings Anguish and Relief
The book industry, beleaguered by a battery of dispiriting news about lackluster sales and online price wars, got another taste of the apocalypse on Thursday with the news that Kirkus Reviews, the venerable prepublication review journal, was closing.
Then again, there were those who were not so quietly relieved that a frequent source of author flaying had been subdued.
“When I was a book publicist, the worst part of my job was having to read a Kirkus review over the phone to an author. 2 cigs before, 2 after,” recalled Laura Zigman, an author and former book publicist for Alfred A. Knopf, in a Twitter post.
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Correction: December 12, 2009
An earlier version of this article misspelled the given name of a co-owner of Rainy Day Books. She is Vivien Jennings, not Vivienne.
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