FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Sarah Kalina, 512-369-6174 skalina@kirkusreviews.com
 

Kirkus Media Names Laura Simeon Young Adult Editor

 

AUSTIN, TX, January 2, 2018 — Kirkus Media is delighted to announce that Laura Simeon is the new Young Adult Editor, effective immediately.  The children’s and teen section of Kirkus Reviews is the largest section of the magazine, and in the past seven years (since the acquisition from Nielsen), the magazine has increased the number of kids’  books it reviews by 72%. To continue its mission to provide the most thoughtful reviews and recommendations for young readers, Kirkus will now divide the reviews into two distinct sections: children’s and middle grade, and young adult.   Vicky Smith remains the editor of Children’s (includes Picture Books and Middle Grade).   

Simeon comes to Kirkus from Open Window School in Bellevue, WA where she was the Library Learning Commons Director and Diversity Coordinator. A former reviewer for Kirkus and School Library Journal, Laura has done research on ethnic and gender diversity in contemporary Swedish children's literature through a grant from the Swedish Institute. She has a B.A. in History from Bryn Mawr College, an M.A. in Early Modern European History from the University of British Columbia, and an MLIS from the University of Washington. Now based in the Pacific Northwest, she grew up living in a variety of locales including Hokkaido, Japan, the Torres Strait Islands, Hawaii, and an Inuit village in the Canadian Arctic, thanks to her anthropologist father. Laura is co-chair of the U.S. Selection Committee for the United World Colleges, international secondary schools dedicated to education for peace and a sustainable future.

Questions about submitting books can be addressed to Laura and Vicky or by clicking on the relevant section under the Submission Requirements area of this page https://www.kirkusreviews.com/publisher-services/. Laura Simeon is reachable at lsimeon@kirkus.com and Vicky Smith at vsmith@kirkus.com.

 

About Kirkus Reviews:

Founded in 1933, Kirkus has been one of the most trusted and authoritative voices in book discovery. When Kirkus Reviews was established by Virginia Kirkus, it was an innovation in the publishing field. Today, Kirkus Reviews covers more than 7,000 books published by traditional houses and more than 3,000 self-published books every year. The magazine is published on the 1st and 15th of every month, and because of the scope of their coverage, their authoritative voice and the timeliness of their reviews, Kirkus Reviews is revered by many as the first indicator of a book’s potential.

The chairman of Kirkus Media is Herb Simon. Marc Winkelman is the president and publisher, and Meg LaBorde Kuehn is the chief executive officer. The editor-in-chief of Kirkus Reviews is Claiborne Smith.

For further information on Kirkus see https://www.kirkusreviews.com.

 

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