Shelf Awareness


Shelf Awareness is an American publishing company that produces two electronic publications/newsletters focused on bookselling, books and book reviews.

Overview

With offices in Seattle, Washington, and Montclair, New Jersey, Shelf Awareness publishes an e-newsletter for the book industry and an e-newsletter for general readers.
Shelf Awareness Pro is a daily trade magazine for booksellers, publishers, librarians, and literary agents with a circulation of 39,000. Shelf Awareness for Readers is a twice-weekly book review publication for consumers with a circulation of 399,000. Approximately 130 independent bookstores send out a version of Shelf Awareness for Readers to their customers.

History

The company was founded by editor/journalist John Mutter and Jenn Risko in 2005 to produce a trade magazine for booksellers.
The circulation of Shelf Awareness Pro is more than 39,000 industry professionals and is considered an essential trade publication for booksellers, publishers, librarians, and literary agents. The publication reports on independent bookstores, including openings, expansions, moves, staffing and closures; bookselling; publishing industry news, such as new titles, staffing, imprints, etc.; e-books and e-publication; authors; awards; media coverage of books and authors; and other features. Shelf Awareness Pro is often cited and/or sourced by other publications covering books and bookselling.
In 2011, Shelf Awareness launched a consumer book review version
called Shelf Awareness for Readers. The company hired Marilyn Dahl as the review editor and Jennifer Brown as the children’s literature editor. The consumer version, called Shelf Awareness for Readers, has an approximate circulation of 399,000 readers. Key features include book reviews, author interviews, contests, and book-related news.
A version of Shelf Awareness for Readers is also sent out by approximately 130 independent bookstores to their customers. The “Bookstore Edition” includes the bookstore’s events and the ability for readers to buy books reviewed directly from the store, as well as the bookstore’s logo and other branding.