Kirkus Reviews may be responsible for more open bottles of champagne and tears of sorrow than any other entity associated with the worlds of children’s literature and publishing.  As a result of its direct and unflinching book reviews, it is read, referenced, and trusted by library workers, publishers, educators, booksellers, and general readers across the country.  Yet the inner workings of the magazine often remain a mystery to many new authors and illustrators, which may lead to feelings of anxiety and dread.  In this moderated discussion hosted by the Children’s Literature Research Collection, Young Readers’ Editors Laura Simeon and Mahnaz Dar, and President of Indie Chaya Schechner will strive to alleviate those feelings of uneasiness by shedding a light on their work at Kirkus promoting and celebrating the literary world.  The panel will discuss the intricacies of the review process, the role Kirkus plays in maintaining the high standards of the publishing industry, as well as valuable information about the industry. An open Q&A will follow. 

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About the Presenters:

Mahnaz Dar is a young readers’s editor at Kirkus Reviews. Prior to that, she worked as a reviews editor at Library Journal and School Library Journal. When she’s not nose deep in kid lit, she writes freelance articles on TV, movies, and pop culture.

Chaya Schechner is the president of Indie at Kirkus Reviews. Kirkus Indie curates self-published titles to help consumers and industry influencers (publishers, agents, film producers, librarians, booksellers) discover authors. In her pre-Kirkus days, Schechner was an editor at the American Booksellers Association, where she worked with indie booksellers for nearly a decade, and a senior editor at the Lambda Literary Foundation. 

Laura Simeon is a Young Readers’ Editor at Kirkus Reviews and a former school librarian with a passion for global literature. She has served on several book award juries, including the Coretta Scott King–Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement and the Global Literature in Libraries Initiative Translated YA Book Prize, and researched diversity in contemporary Swedish picture books in Stockholm.