Publication analysis
About the publication
Title: Publishers Weekly, or PW
ISSN: 0000-0019 (Print) and 2150-4008 (Online)1
Website: http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Purpose, objective, or mission: Weekly news magazine focused on the international book publishing business.2
Target audience: Publishers, booksellers, librarians, literary agents, authors, and the media.3
Publisher: PWxyz, LLC.4
Peer reviewed? No.5
Type: Civilian magazine covering book publishing.
Medium: Print and online.
Content: “It offers feature articles and news on all aspects of the book business, bestsellers lists in a number of categories, and industry statistics, but its best known service is pre-publication book reviews, publishing some 9,000 per year.”6
Frequency of publication: Weekly.7
About the publication’s submission guidelines
Location of submission guidelines: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/corp/submissionguidelines.html
Types of contributions accepted: PW accept story pitches for features, news, opinion pieces, and the children’s section.8 Letters to the editor are also accepted.9
Submission and review process: Story pitches for news and soapbox ideas should be sent to Editorial Director Jim Milliot at jmilliot [at] publishersweekly.com. Pitches for features should be sent to features [at] publishersweekly.com; for children’s, send pitches to childrensbooks [at] publishersweekly.com.10 Send letters to Jim Milliot, including your name and address.11
Editorial tone: Informative.
Style guide used: None indicated.
Conclusion: Evaluation of publication’s potential for LIS authors
Publishers Weekly is perhaps the most prominent publication in the book publishing industry, and having a book review or article published in the magazine would be a notable accomplishment in the eyes of other LIS professionals.
Audience analysis
About the publication’s readers
Publication circulation: “PW‘s print edition boasts 16,000+ subscribers with a pass-along rate of 4 readers per issue […] and is read by over 68,000 booksellers, publishers, public and academic librarians, wholesalers, distributors, educators, agents and writers.”12 “PublishersWeekly.com had 10 million unique visitors last year and more than 27 million page views…and it’s growing.”13
Audience location and language or cultural considerations: Publishers Weekly is published in the United States in English, though it features reviews of books from around the world.
Reader characteristics: Readers are 71% female and mostly college graduates, with an average household income of $50,000. The audience is divided into four categories: librarians, publishing professionals, booksellers, and consumers (including educators, members of the media, and book lovers.)14 Readers are people who care about books or need/want to know what’s happening in the world of book publishing.
Knowledge of LIS subject matter: It is possible, given the connection between libraries and the publishing industry, that the readers may have a familiarity with LIS jargon, however it should not be assumed.
Conclusion: Analysis of reader characteristics and their potential impact on authors
Publishers Weekly is targeted to publishers, booksellers, librarians, educators, and book lovers. National library news is relevant to the magazine’s content, and readers would be interested in a librarian’s unique perspective on books or publishing trends.
Last updated: September 18, 2018.
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