In response to Publishers Weekly’s new policy, which they announced in a letter stating:

“Publishers Weekly’s reviews editors handle a huge number of submissions and produce roughly 7,000 editorially chosen, prepublication reviews each year. Rest assured that our process and standards for how titles are selected for review is not changing.

“We are making a change in the submission process. In order to effectively manage the growing number of submissions we receive, as of March 24, 2025, titles submitted for PW review consideration incur a $25 fee.”

I’ve just sent the following letter to the editor of PW:

I’m disappointed to learn of Publishers Weekly‘s new pay-for-reviews policy. Reading the FAQ on the web page, I see

“Does the $25 submission fee apply to BookLife Reviews, which are different than PW reviews?

“No, the submission fee does not apply to BookLife Reviews. BookLife Reviews are an entirely different process; BookLife Reviews are paid reviews.”

As a publisher, I find this disingenuous. And as a reader, I don’t see the difference. Pay for a guaranteed paid review, or pay for a chance for a regular review. Either way, it’s paying for a review, whether you call it a submission fee or a paid review.

How long will it be before PW goes to a free distribution model, just to keep your circulation numbers up to justify the review fees?

With regrets,