Reviewing Books for SMSA

We would like to invite all SMSA members to submit book reviews for inclusion on our website. Book reviews are a great way to let fellow members know about the range of good reads they can borrow from the SMSA Library.

The reviews are a consistently popular feature of our website and appear on the Library page and in our eNews.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

• You must be an SMSA member to submit reviews.
• Select ANY book in the SMSA Library or from the SMSA eBooks, Audiobooks or even a film from the Beamafilm collection.
• Write a short review. You will find some guidelines below and can view previous reviews on our website.
• Email your review to library@smsa.org.au
• Library staff will read, edit and schedule your review to be published* on the website

*Reviews are published at the discretion of SMSA staff and dependent on content and staff resources/availability

WHAT CAN I REVIEW?

You can select ANY book that the L2 Library or the Tom Keneally Centre has on its shelves or that is in our eBook or Audiobook collection. For example, you could review:

• Books from the Library’s New Books list
• Best-sellers and books in the news
• Old favourites – the books that never go out of style
• Any other good book you have read recently – or even in the past
• We would like to review a variety of genres, so while Mystery and Crime is always a favourite at SMSA, we encourage you to review other types of books as well
• Don’t forget film reviews! Review a great movie or documentary via our Beamafilm collection

WRITING YOUR REVIEW

• Keep the whole review to around 300-400 words. A little over or under is fine.
• What is the book about? You could mention plot, characters or major themes, without giving too much away!
• What did you like about the book? What does the writer do particularly well?
• Does it keep you enthralled? Why is that?
• Who would you recommend it to? E.g. Will members who enjoy reading a particular author be likely to enjoy this book?

HINTS AND TIPS

• Keep it simple & friendly!
• You are writing this book review for a reader very much like yourself – write what you’d want to know about the book
• Don’t get bogged down in literary criticism or getting too fancy. This is about recreational reading – using clear and simple wording is fine
• Write in your own words
• Avoid re-phrasing the jacket summary or a review on the internet. We are looking for your opinion, not someone else’s.
• If you were telling someone about the book in a face-to-face conversation, what would you say?
• Most importantly… HAVE FUN! Read and review books you love and are passionate about.

QUESTIONS

Contact our friendly Library staff at library@smsa.org.au if you have any questions.