Virginia Kirkus (December 7, 1893 – September 10, 1980) was the founder and president of what would become ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'' from 1933 to 1962. 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 ...

'' and ''

McCall's ''McCall's'' was a monthly United States, 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. The publication ...

''. She was recruited to head the newly created children's fiction section for

Harper & Brothers Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship Imprint (trade name), imprint of global publisher HarperCollins, based in New York City. Founded in New York in 1817 by James Harper (publisher), James Harper and his brother John, the compan ...

from 1925 to 1932.

Early life and education

Virginia Kirkus was born on December 7, 1893, in

Meadville, Pennsylvania Meadville is a city in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The population was 13,050 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The first permanent settlement in Northwestern Pennsylvania, Meadville is withi ...

. During her childhood, she moved to

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

. For her post-secondary education, Kirkus received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

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. The college be ...

in 1916 before going to

Teachers College, Columbia University Teachers College, Columbia University (TC) is the graduate school of education affiliated with Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Founded in 1887, Teachers College has been a part of Columbia University since ...

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 A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

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 She later 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 Danbury ( ) is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2020 was 86,518. It is the third-largest city in Western Connecticut, and the seventh-largest ...

. She was married to Frank Glick; they had no children.

References

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