Against the Trend: NPR Goes For More Book Reviews

National Public Radio hired six new book reviewers and added more features to an already existing lineup of author podcasts, critics' lists and other book-focused content: Jessa Crispin, founder of the literary blog Bookslut.com; John Freeman, book critic and a former president of the National Book Critics Circle; and Laurel Maury, freelance comics and graphic novel reviewer and a longtime contributor to PW Comics Week are all now part of a package designed to heighten the site's appeal to the NPR demographic.

“We’re building up our book coverage because book content really works for our audience,” NPR senior supervising producer Joe Matazzoni said. “Books are among the top three topics attracting traffic to the NPR site.” Much of the sites literary content is in tie-ins to shows such as All Things Considered, but there is an effort underway to expand standalone coverage because, Matazzoni said, it “allows the website to adapt material more specifically for the web.”

The site already promotes links to a number of other interests, such as opera, food, and popular music, and commercial services such as Sirius Radio.