Of the publishing industry’s four major trade magazines (the other three include Kirkus, Booklist, and Library Journal), Adelle Waldman writes at Slate that “Publishers Weekly, or PW, is the biggie—it plays Coke to Kirkus‘ Pepsi.” A “'starred’ review in PW still increases a book’s chance of getting media coverage and showing up in your neighborhood bookstore." These also determine which books Amazon promotes." 

A starred review indicates a book of outstanding quality.

Imagine my pleasure when I came across a starred review of my book, Epistolophilia: Writing the Life of Ona Šimaitė. 

[Photo: winterofdiscontent]

Julija Šukys is the author of Epistolophilia: Writing the Life of Ona Šimaitė (2012) and of Silence is Death: The Life and Work of Tahar Djaout (2007). You can find out more about her at http://julijasukys.com.