Book industry gives critics a rave review

The nation’s weary and worried book critics, who have endured cutbacks in newspapers around the country, are getting a pat on the back from the industry they cover.

The Assn. of American Publishers announced Wednesday that it will give its annual AAP Honors prize, for “significant achievements in promoting American books and authors,” to the National Book Critics Circle.

“As newspapers across the country slashed book review space and fired experienced book editors in the name of belt-tightening, the NBCC decided to fight back,” the AAP said, noting the NBCC’s Campaign to Save Book Reviews, which has included panel discussions, blogs and interviews with book editors “in the trenches.”

The NBCC was founded in 1974 and has about 800 members.