Watching the mainstream media’s book review space do its 21st century disappearing act, the founders of the New York Journal of Books saw an opportunity not only to fill the lost space, but to expand it by orders of magnitude. At the NYJB you’ll find Alice Munro’s and Ian McEwan’s books reviewed, sure. But also titles in genres that gatekeepers lock out: Dystopian (beyond Orwell, that is), Fantasy, Romance, Erotica, Transgender, and Horror–to name just a few.
Goodreads, Amazon and other sites have created wonderfully egalitarian stages for inspired and passionate book commentary. But too often the opinions there, dashed off unedited by anyone with a whim, misrepresent a book’s value and even its content. The New York Journal of Books is just the opposite. It matches new titles with reviewers’ expertise and brings a professional mien to the job of disseminating the good word about what’s out there to read, in every category. Ted and Rhonda Sturtz, with Lisa Rojany Buccieri, founded the company and it’s been thriving since 2009. It publishes its reviews at midnight on the day of the book’s release–often first to chime in. Among the hundreds of reviewers are Robert Randle, Phil Constable, Carol Brill, and the indefatigable Vinton Rafe McCabe.
