Michiko Kakutani, the revered New York Times' book critic, has stepped down. Kakutani’s reviews have been known to make or break an author’s career. In the publishing world, the formidable critic's word is gold. If she says a book is good, then readers inevitably flock to it.
“A rave review from Michiko Kakutani has been the equivalent of a badge of honour — it’s the ultimate endorsement for a serious writer,” said Jonathan Karp, the publisher of Simon & Schuster.
Kakutani joined the newspaper in 1979 as a cultural news reporter. She became a book critic in 1983, and won the Pulitzer Prize for criticism in 1998.
She has helped make the careers of some of the most revered writers of our age, including Jonathan Franzen, Ian McEwan and Zadie Smith.
She was known as a very private person, who nobody knew of, except through her reviews.
According to the Vanity Fair, she wants to branch out and write more essays about culture and politics in Trump’s America.
Apart from her book reviews, she has also done many influential interviews and pieces, such as a review of Adolf Hitler’s biography as a comparison to Trump, and her interview of President Barack Obama on how his reading habits shaped his presidency.
Her last review has already been published. She reviewed Stay With Me, a novel by first-time Nigerian author Ayobami Adebayo.
"No one has played a larger role in guiding readers through the country's literary life over the past four decades than Michi," Times Executive Editor Dean Baquet wrote in a letter to the staff, after the news that she was leaving was made public.
My gratitude & thanks to the NYT
— Michiko Kakutani (@michikokakutani) July 27, 2017
Moving on to focus on longer pieces about politics & culture, though i will always love & write about books
News of her leaving has created ripples across the publishing world.
We are grateful to @michikokakutani for 38 stellar years at The New York Times and for her tremendous run as our chief book critic 1/2
— Pamela Paul (@PamelaPaulNYT) July 27, 2017
Thank you, @michikokakutani, for nearly four decades of service to readers of the New York Times, and readers everywhere.
— Radhika Jones (@radhikajones) July 27, 2017
We can’t wait to see what she does next!
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