An Interview with John Leonard

John Leonard is Editor of the New York Times Book Review (TBR). To anybody involved in the world of books that title carries a special resonance. TBR is where books are born, confirmed, and (frequently) buried. While it would be overstating the case to say that TBR reviews are to books what Times drama criticism is to theater, the comparison is only slightly misdrawn. The relationship, in the eyes of many authors and publishers, is that of the knife to the throat. It belongs to TBR to “discover” the small fascinations as well as the full-sized talents, to capsize the otherwise clear-sailing volume, to make or break the marginal book. According to a reasonably objective third party—the Wall Street Journal—a favorable review in TBR is worth an additional five thousand copies in sales. When you consider that many trade books never sell a total of five thousand copies you get a contextual feel for the statistic.

A favorable review in TBR is not an easy thing to come by. Consider. There are approximately thirty thousand new titles published every year in this country. In a good year, TBR will “preview” fifteen thousand of those new books, ignoring completely the pulp Westerns, self-help and inspirational material, porn, and most science fiction. Of the fifteen thousand it previews it will select perhaps two thousand for review in the magazine. A majority of those reviews will be either negative or “minor” (with almost all crime stories, essay collections, and selected sf falling in the latter category).

About the Author

Neal B. Freeman

Neal B. Freeman, businessman and journalist, was a director of National Review Inc. for 38 years.

Featured Tags

John Leonard is Editor of the New York Times Book Review (TBR). To anybody involved in the world of books that title carries a special resonance. TBR is where books are born, confirmed, and (frequently) buried. While it would be overstating the case to say that TBR reviews are to books what Times drama criticism is to theater, the comparison is only slightly misdrawn. The relationship, in the eyes of many authors and publishers, is that of the knife to the throat. It belongs to TBR to “discover” the small fascinations as well as the full-sized talents, to capsize the otherwise clear-sailing volume, to make or break the marginal book. According to a reasonably objective third party—the Wall Street Journal—a favorable review in TBR is worth an additional five thousand copies in sales. When you consider that many trade books never sell a total of five thousand copies you get a contextual feel for the statistic.

A favorable review in TBR is not an easy thing to come by. Consider. There are approximately thirty thousand new titles published every year in this country. In a good year, TBR will “preview” fifteen thousand of those new books, ignoring completely the pulp Westerns, self-help and inspirational material, porn, and most science fiction. Of the fifteen thousand it previews it will select perhaps two thousand for review in the magazine. A majority of those reviews will be either negative or “minor” (with almost all crime stories, essay collections, and selected sf falling in the latter category).