Larsen to Depart 'Kirkus'

This article originally appeared in the May 12, 2005 issue of PW Daily

-- Publishers Weekly, 5/12/2005

Longtime Kirkus Reviews editor Anne Larsen is leaving the magazine. Larsen, who took over the post in 1985 and edited what she estimates are more than 60,000 reviews, will depart at the end of the week. Kirkus parent VNU has yet to name a successor.

In an interview, Larsen said she made the decision to leave in order to "reclaim my life." She noted that that job of review editors in general has changed during her tenure. "It's harder to do the winnowing that used to be more obvious. There's a lot more packaging [in books]," she said. "You have to read further into something to know whether it's a book you should review."

In a memo, Book Standard editor-in-chief Jerome Kramer described Larsen as "the steady editorial hand on the tiller, maintaining or advancing as necessary the unique voice of Kirkus Reviews."