Thérèse Purcell Nielsen is a fiction reviewer for Kirkus. She is a former Head of Reference and adult fiction selector at the Huntington Public Library. She served for years on the Long Island Reads Committee (One Island—One Book) including as the Suffolk County chairperson. She has been a reviewer for Library Journal, where she wrote a bi-monthly column on memoir. Thérèse is a lifetime member of the National Book Critics Circle and has been a panel member for the John Leonard Prize. Before becoming a public librarian, she practiced law.
Oscar Villalon is the editor of ZYZZYVA, the award-winning literary journal celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2025. His writing and reviews have been published in The Believer, VQR, Alta, Stranger’s Guide, and elsewhere. He lives in San Francisco.
Calvin Crosby, a Cherokee Nation member, is an owner of the King’s English Bookshop in Salt Lake City and the Executive Director of Brain Food Books, a 501(c)(3) organization that provides books to under-recognized communities along the Wasatch Front. Calvin served as a juror for the 2023 National Book Award Foundation’s Fiction Category and on the Library of Congress Youth Ambassador Committee. He received the 2022 Duende-Word BIPOC Leadership Award and was honored as the 2023 University of Utah’s Native Excellence Community Partner. He is working on a Dial Fellowship in conjunction with Emerson Collective.
Anita Felicelli is the author of How We Know Our Time Travelers and other books. She is the books editor of Alta Journal. Her criticism and essays have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Slate, and elsewhere. She served on the board of the National Book Critics Circle from 2021 to 2024. She lives in the Bay Area with her family.
Dr. Annette Y. Goldsmith has enjoyed working collaboratively to design community spaces and tools for readers—as a youth services librarian, a graduate instructor in children’s literature and librarianship, and currently as a Judaica librarian at Los Angeles’ Sephardic Temple Tifereth Israel (STTI). Annette was the founding editor of the online international children’s literature journal The Looking Glass, spearheaded the Global Literature in Libraries Initiative Translated YA Book Prize, won a 2023 ALA Carnegie-Whitney grant (with Dr. Marc Aronson and David Jacobson) to create “Building a Global Youth Literature Collection 101,” and runs the virtual STTI Second Sunday Book Club.
Erika Long is a dynamic force in the library world, blending a decade of librarianship with roles as a school librarian, adjunct lecturer, and founder/consultant at Not Yo Mama’s Librarian, LLC. Her leadership shines through active participation in professional associations, including the American Library Association. Erika often shares her expertise as a speaker and content writer. She especially loves creating educator guides for children’s and YA literature. She co-authored the “Equity” chapter of Core Values in School Librarianship. Outside the library world, Erika is a passionate foodie who enjoys a perfectly crafted meal, occasionally ending it with a fine cigar.
The Magazine: Kirkus Reviews
Featuring 302 industry-first reviews of fiction, nonfiction, children’s, and YA books; also in this special Science Fiction & Fantasy Issue: interviews with R.F. Kuang, Melissa Febos, Adrianna Cuevas, and E.K. Johnston; and much more
subscribe
The Kirkus Star
One of the most coveted designations in the book industry, the Kirkus Star marks books of exceptional merit.
The Kirkus Prize
The Kirkus Prize is among the richest literary awards in America, awarding $50,000 in three categories annually.
Be the first to read books news and see reviews, news and features in Kirkus Reviews. Get awesome content delivered to your inbox every week.
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.