Posted Originally from The Arts Fuse
Horrific as it is, the auto-da-fé of book and arts coverage at The Washington Post has exposed a malaise that’s just as disheartening. No sizable media organizations are stepping up to pick up the slack. WBUR, WGBH, The Boston Globe — none has offered assurances (nor have other major U.S. outlets) that more book and arts reviews are coming. Don’t hold your breath. When the mainstream media bother to show even a faint interest in books and the arts, they lean into marketing rather than evaluation, fluff rather than serious coverage. Expect more inane interviews with artists by newspeople who don’t know a novel from their navel. You half expect to hear an NPR host ask a famous novelist: “Why did you decide to write a book featuring characters?”
You know things have hit rock bottom when Congress (!) is more protective of literature than our sputtering information industry. According to EveryLibrary, Congress’s final FY2026 “minibus” appropriations bills protect funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Library of Congress, and the National Archives and Records Administration — a rejection of sweeping cuts proposed by the President that would have deeply harmed libraries, museums, and archives in every state. So our libraries will stand — at least for now — while elite communication conglomerates are content to let book reviews die.
Not on my watch. Viva La Book Review supports book critics by funding reviews in local media around the country. Besides donating to The Arts Fuse and other magazines producing high-quality book and arts reviews, now is the time to gather with other lit-lovers who are passionate about maintaining book culture — readers who believe in independent evaluation rather than servile boosterism. Bezos will only win if we let him. Let thousands of book reviews bloom, let thousands of critics contend.
