A Note to Publishers and Authors (rev 1/12)

Greetings.

In addition to reviewing books on this here blog I'm also a founding contributor to Guys Lit Wire, a blog dedicated to reviewing books of interest or teen boys. I generally cross-post books between the two blogs if I feel they are appropriate for both sites and books I am sent may end up reviewed at either or both.

For those looking for a quick answer: Yes, I am still considering reviews of new children's literature if anyone wishes to send me galleys, ARCs or F&Gs. I will also consider digital galleys on a case-by-case basis. That said, please read on for what to expect.

For those looking to peg my interests, I am particularly keen on middle grade and YA fiction especially (but not exclusively) concerning male protagonists. Fantasy and historical books do not excite me but science fiction does, especially middle grade science fiction. I see enough picture books with cute animals that the ones that really stand out for me these days tend to be substanitative in their subject matter or subversive in their humor. Nonfiction picture books are still catching my eye a lot. Actually all non-fiction for children and young adults interests me these days. Also, I find myself doing a fair bit of graphic novel reading.

I include positive and negative reviews. I do so because I feel it presents a more complete picture of my criticism and allows for healthy dialog among the community of bloggers, authors and publishers. That said, I do not write reviews for everything I have read; time being what it is I have to limit myself to those books I feel compelled -- for whatever reason -- to discuss. If receiving a review copy of a book means I am expected to report back to anyone about the status of my review, well, I'm sure there are others who would be happy to oblige.

In my dream world an editor (or perhaps their hip intern, who reads blogs for fun and profit) would send me their catalogs an allow me to choose a handful to review each season. In the real world I will take what I can get, but I'd prefer books not come from some publicity or marketing firm seeking to use my contact information as another notch in their data arsenal.

Anyone who has gotten this far, and who wishes to send me a book to review, can contact me via email at david (dot) elzey (at) gmail (dot) com. I'll be taking questions from the floor as well.

Excelsior!