In reaction to word that the Washington Post Book World may soon be a thing of the past, the National Book Critics Circle issued a late January petition to curtail the dismantling of the newspaper section. According to the NBCC blog, the petition reads as follows: “As contributors to and readers of Book World, we write to implore the editors of the Washington Post to keep it alive as a separate section in the Sunday newspaper. Few other forums introduce so many readers to so many important new works of literature and thought each week. As part of one of our most venerated papers, it carries prestige and influence. It enriches our culture with its thoughtful criticism.
“With the newspaper business facing hard times, too many papers have already shuttered their book reviews. Only two stand-alone sections remain. To hard-pressed editors and publishers, these sections may seem peripheral to their papers’ mission. But the robust discussion of books is vital to a good society. ‘A newspaper discloses its view of the world clearly by what it chooses to cover and not to cover, and with what degree of rigor and pride,‘the editors of the New Republic wrote last year. ‘When you deprive the coverage of books of adequate space and talent, you are declaring that books are not important.’
“We call on the Washington Post to affirm its belief in the importance of books and of the unique role they play in our culture by maintaining its support of Book World.”
Marcus Brauchli, Executive Editor, said of the speculation, “We are absolutely committed to book reviews and coverage of literature, publishing and ideas in thePost. Our readership has a huge interest in these areas.” Though Book World had not officially been discontinued by the Washington Post as of press time, a later NBCC blog posting announced the termination of the section dedicated to books. “It’s official. The last issue of Book World in print will be the February 15, 2009 issue,” the posting reads. “Thereafter, content will be split between the Outlook section and Style & Arts on Sundays. Daily book reviews in Style will continue. The promise is that there will be four additional broadsheet pages in Outlook for book coverage and one additional page in Style & Arts. That’s an equivalent of twelve tabloid pages. (Book World is sixteen pages.) Jonathan Yardley’s reviews will appear in Outlook. Michael Dirda’s will appear in Style. The staff of Book World will be kept together under the editorship of Rachel Shea.” The online version will continue as an independent section of Book World.