Excerpting Policy

All excerpts must be attributed to “Kirkus Reviews” in italics, and industry standard best practices for proper excerpting must be followed. These practices include, but are not limited to, the following guidelines:

    - If words are omitted from a quote, ellipses must be inserted in their place.
    - No words may be added to the review.
    - The integrity of the review may not be altered.
    - If quoted content is to be used in online publicity, link back to kirkusreviews.com with the attribution.

When excerpting from a blog post, do not attribute the quote to “Kirkus Reviews.” Instead, please use the following format: "[blog name] at kirkus.com" (e.g., Bookshelves of Doom at kirkus.com).


Examples of proper excerpts and attributions:

“An engrossing, haunting story about making up for lost time.” —Kirkus Reviews

“A wonderfully written, provocative novel that utilizes two distinct genres to promote progressive cultural messages.” —Kirkus Reviews

Starred reviews may be designated by adding “(starred review)” in parentheses behind “Kirkus Reviews.”


Examples of proper attribution of a starred review:

“A powerful saga of love and survival.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Powered by relentless pacing and jaw-dropping plot twists throughout, Bannon's debut novel is a science-fiction thriller of the highest order . . . In a word: mind-blowing.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)


In compliance with fair use laws, publishers may excerpt up to 35% of a review for marketing purposes. To inquire about reprint rights (if you’re interested in publishing the review in its entirety), email reprints@kirkus.com.

All reviews acquired through the Kirkus Indie program must be published in their entirety on Kirkus.com before any portion of the reviews are published (online or in print) for any use. To publish your Indie review on Kirkus.com, please email indiecustomer@kirkus.com with a notice of your permission. Kirkus will publish the review at no extra cost to you and reply to your email with a link to your review on our website. If you choose to publish your review on Kirkus.com, Kirkus reserves the right  to promote, publish and distribute it without  limitation. Please note that if Kirkus does not receive permission to publish your review on Kirkus.com, it will be kept private.


If you have questions about our excerpting policies, please email excerpts@kirkus.com.