Virginia Kirkus (December 7, 1893 – September 10, 1980) was the founder and president of the Virginia Kirkus Bookshop Service from 1933 to 1962. In 1969, the service became ''Kirkus Reviews''. Before creating her service in 1933, Kirkus was a teacher in Delaware during the late 1910s. In the 1920s, Kirkus went to New York to edit for ''

Pictorial Review The ''Pictorial Review'' was an American women's magazine published from 1899 to 1939. Based in New York, the ''Pictorial Review'' was first published in September 1899. The magazine was originally designed to showcase dress patterns of German i ...

'' and ''

McCall's ''McCall's'' was a monthly American women's magazine, published by the McCall Corporation, that enjoyed great popularity through much of the 20th century, peaking at a readership of 8.4 million in the early 1960s. It was established as a small-f ...

''. She later was the head of the children's fiction section for

Harper & Brothers Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship imprint of global publisher HarperCollins based in New York City. History J. & J. Harper (1817–1833) James Harper and his brother John, printers by training, started their book publishin ...

from 1925 to 1932.

Early life and education

Virginia Kirkus was born on December 7, 1893, in Meadville, Pennsylvania. During her childhood, she moved to

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

. For her post-secondary education, Kirkus received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

from

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely foll ...

in 1916 before going to

Teachers College, Columbia University Teachers College, Columbia University (TC), is the graduate school of education, health, and psychology of Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Founded in 1887, it has served as one of the official faculties and ...

for her postgraduate studies in 1917. She married Frank Glick, executive director of placement and personnel for the Associated Merchandising Company, on June 5, 1936.

Career

Kirkus taught history and English at a

private school Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

from 1917 to 1919 before leaving Delaware for New York in the 1920s. In New York, Kirkus was an assistant editor for ''

s fashion department and an editor for ''

''. Kirkus moved to

in 1925 and led the publisher's children's books section. When Harper & Brothers closed the children's department in 1932, Kirkus declined another job with the publisher and left the company. While returning from a trip to Europe in 1932, Kirkus came up with the idea of creating brief reviews on upcoming books for bookshops. Kirkus created the Virginia Kirkus Bookshop Service in 1933 as president and held the position until 1962. Kirkus reviewed 16,000 books during her tenure with her bookshop service. After her departure, the Virginia Kirkus Bookshop Service was renamed multiple times in the 1960s before becoming '' Kirkus Reviews'' in 1969. Apart from book reviews, Kirkus published a book about health in 1922 and edited two children's books in the 1930s.Candee 1954, pp. 382-383 Later on, Kirkus released a book about home renovation in 1940 and a gardening book in 1956.

Personal life

On September 10, 1980, Kirkus died in Danbury, Connecticut. She was married and had no children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirkus, Virginia 1893 births 1980 deaths American literary critics Women literary critics American magazine publishers (people) 20th-century American non-fiction writers People from Meadville, Pennsylvania Teachers College, Columbia University alumni Vassar College alumni Writers from Pennsylvania Writers from Wilmington, Delaware American women critics

Early life and education

Career

Personal life

See also

References