Critical Notes

Dear NBCC Friends, Welcome to year-end list season. As institutions ranging from the NYPL to the New York Times weigh in with extensive catalogs of notable titles, former NBCC president Tom

With a four-day weekend ahead of us, here’s hoping for some much-needed reading time. If you’re traveling, choose wisely as you pack, and remember that books can be a great

Dear NBCC Friends, We’re trying out a new feature on exciting forthcoming titles. We’re talking three months out or longer, books within pitching distance. Stuff we’ve picked up at events or found on our doorsteps,

Dear NBCC Friends, Spooky season might be drawing to a close, but publishers haven’t stopped adding to an ever-growing glut of gothic novels and literary horror. So, if that’s your

Dear NBCC Friends, As mentioned last week, submissions for the Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing are now open. The prize recognizes outstanding work by an NBCC member and awards them

Dear NBCC Friends, We’ll be opening up submissions for the Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing on October 30. The prize recognizes outstanding work by an NBCC member and

Dear NBCC Members, We hope you’re all curling up with a good book as the weather cools down. And we’d like to wish a hearty congratulations to Vivian Gornick, three-time

Dear NBCC Friends, Greetings! Hope everyone’s weathering this most busy time for the book world. Meanwhile, the reviews output is keeping apace. Here’s a recap on what our members have

Dear NBCC Members, This week, the literary world awaits the announcement of the Nobel Prize winner for 2022. Guiding us as usual through the crowded and geographically scattered field of deserving

Dear NBCC Friends, We at the NBCC are remembering the work of Hilary Mantel, who died last week at 70, and whose Wolf Hall won the 2009 NBCC fiction award. Board member Linda Wolfe, in