Guidelines for reviewers
by Phil Hine
Book & Magazine Reviews
The average length of a book/magazine review for Pagan News is 200 words. We will consider longer reviews if a subject is deemed to have great interest or merit.
The following information should be appended to your review:
- Publisher's Information
- Book Title
- Author(s)
- Publishing House - in the case of small, 'independent' presses, the full address is useful.
- Price (in £, or $ - both, where appropriate.)
- No of pages
- Whether the book is Paper/Hard Back, of for a magazine, A4, A5, etc..
- For magazines - frequency of publication (ie: monthly, quarterly)
Points to bear in mind when writing a review:
- If it's a magazine - do you need to make a comment about the layout, graphics, content, etc.
- Unless you can't think of anything else, don't just list the contents of the magazine/book.
- Say if there are things about the text that you particularly liked/disliked. Give a short example if you feel it's necessary.
- How well does the writing cover its chosen subject(s)? Do the words flow smoothly along or is the text 'jerky' and hard to follow.
- If you are reading, for example, a new book on Earth Mysteries, a subject which you happen to be well-read in, it might be useful to compare the review item with other works.
- If the item contains inaccuracies, it might be useful to point them out, but only if you're sure of your ground.
- Remember, what you're looking at is the product of someone else's hard work - so don't just skim through it or brush it off after a glance.
- If the book/magazine has a particular aim - do you think it achieves this?
- If appropriate, say what kind of audience you think the item will appeal to.
- Try to look at the item in context with the 'path' it's written for. For example, if it's a book on Witchcraft, it might be useful to say how it furthers your understanding of the Craft, or how it opens up new developments, or indeed if it goes over the same old ground as other books.
- If a magazine/collection of diverse works - look at the range of content, and what sort of overall 'feel' does this give the item.
Other Subjects For Review
We will also consider occasional reviews of:
- Conferences/Festivals/Workshops/Exhibitions
- Music gigs/Records/Tapes
- Films/Television shows
- Computer Software (i.e. Astrology programs)
- Correspondence Courses
If you have any enquiries, please write to the editorial address enclosing an sae.