London Review of Books
 | |
| Editor | Mary-Kay Wilmers |
|---|---|
| Categories | literature, politics |
| Frequency | 24 per year |
| Circulation | 56,816 |
| Publisher | Nicholas Spice |
| First issue | 1979 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Website | www.lrb.co.uk |
| ISSN | 0260-9592 |
The London Review of Books (or LRB) is a fortnightly British magazine of literary and intellectual essays.
History
The LRB was founded in 1979, during the year-long lock-out at The Times.[citation needed]
Its founding editors were Karl Miller, then professor of English at University College London, Mary-Kay Wilmers, formerly an editor at The Times Literary Supplement, and Susannah Clapp, a former editor at Jonathan Cape. For its first six months, it appeared as an insert in the New York Review of Books.[1] In May 1980, the London Review became an independent publication with an orientation described by one of its leading contributors as "consistently radical".[2]
Unlike The Times Literary Supplement (TLS), the majority of the articles the LRB publishes (usually fifteen per issue) are long essays. Some articles in each issue are not based on books, while several short articles discuss film or exhibitions. Political and social editorials or essays are frequent.
The LRB is notorious for its "lonely hearts" personal adverts. They are a long established part of British sexual subculture and have spawned two books and a Twitter account.[3]
Mary-Kay Wilmers took over as editor in 1992. Average circulation per issue from 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2009 was 48,555.[4]
In January 2010, The Times reported that the magazine was £27m in debt to Wilmers' family trust, although the trust had "no intention of the lender seeking repayment of the loan in the near future".[5]
Contributors
Notable contributors have included:
Notes
- ^ Grimes, William. "A. Whitney Ellsworth, First Publisher of New York Review, Dies at 75". The New York Times, 20 June 2011
- ^ "The LRB has maintained a consistently radical stance on politics and social affairs", Alan Bennett, July 1996, in the Foreword to Jane Hindle (editor) London Review of Books: An Anthology, Verso, 1996. ISBN 1-85984-860-5
- ^ Lyall, Sarah. "Book Lovers Seek Lovers, Buttered or Plain". The New York Times, 21 November 2006
- ^ Media info on LRB website
- ^ http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article6999923.ece