''Public Books'' is an American book review website that publishes accessible reviews written by academics and

public intellectuals An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and Human self-reflection, reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, ei ...

Overview

Founding editors Caitlin Zaloom, and Sharon Marcus launched ''Public Books'' in mid-2012 to "give scholars a chance to weigh in on contemporary culture at a faster pace than scholarly publishing allows, but with more rigor and more time for reflection than journalism usually permits." The site publishes one essay or interview a day, five times a week. The first ''Public Books'' article was a review of Jeffrey Eugenides's novel '' The Marriage Plot'' by founding editor Sharon Marcus. This article and several others were published before the site's first official issue, which went live in June 2012. Since its founding, ''Public Books'' has shown interest in

American politics The politics of the United States function within a framework of a constitutional federal republic and presidential system, with three distinct branches that Separation of powers, share powers. These are: the United States Congress, U.S. Congre ...

, art,

finance Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fina ...

, climate change and

pop culture Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * Pop (Gas al ...

(especially television shows and comics). Contributors frequently review books critical of racism or capitalism. '' Bustle'' described ''Public Books'' as a place to find articles that blend "reading, writing, and art with activism—making space for the diverse voices we need to keep hearing more of." ''Public Books'' is one of several new online and print magazines—including ''

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'' and ''

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''—that the '' Chronicle of Higher Education'' credits with catalyzing an "intellectual renaissance" in the United States. ''Public Books'' is known for publishing scholarly responses to current events. In June 2016, historians

N. D. B. Connolly Nathan Daniel Beau Connolly (born Nov. 6, 1977) is an American historian and professor. He is the Herbert Baxter Adams Associate Professor of History at Johns Hopkins University and co-host of the U.S. history podcast ''BackStory''. He is also th ...

and Keisha N. Blain published a syllabus at ''Public Books'' for a potential course on the political success of Donald Trump in the

2016 American presidential election The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket o ...

. The syllabus was so popular in the days after the election that it briefly downed the ''Public Books'' website.

Awards

In 2013, '' The Daily Beast'' gave ''Public Books'' a #BeastBest award for its "meaty book writing."

Notable Contributors

Well-known contributors to ''Public Books'' include: *

Judith Butler Judith Pamela Butler (born February 24, 1956) is an American philosopher and gender theorist whose work has influenced political philosophy, ethics, and the fields of third-wave feminism, queer theory, and literary theory. In 1993, Butler ...

* Masha Gessen * Fredric Jameson *

Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak (born 24 February 1942) is an Indian scholar, literary theorist, and feminist critic. She is a University Professor at Columbia University and a founding member of the establishment's Institute for Comparative Lite ...

References

{{Reflist Book review magazines