Editorial consideration
Foreword Reviews magazine
Booksellers and librarians who follow independent and university press publishing
In short
Foreword Reviews is a trade magazine whose main subject is books from independent and university presses, read by the booksellers and librarians who follow that end of publishing. It runs about 100 reviews chosen from more than 1,000 submissions, and those reviews are licensed into the databases buyers order from, which makes it one of the better editorial chances for a small-press book. Submission is free, and the deadline is strict: the book must arrive at least four and a half months before publication.
Submission does not guarantee coverage. The outlet decides whether and what it publishes.
Foreword Reviews is a trade review magazine devoted to books from independent presses and university presses. Each issue carries around 100 reviews chosen from more than 1,000 submissions, and the reviews are licensed into the industry databases that booksellers and librarians use.
Submission is free. Foreword prefers a PDF of the book emailed to ebooks+magazine@forewordreviews.com, along with a detailed sell sheet: publication date, title and subtitle, description, ISBN, author name and biography, publisher, price, page count, binding, and distribution plans. Hard copies can be mailed to the Book Review Editor at Foreword's Traverse City, Michigan office instead.
Titles must arrive at least four and a half months before publication. Late submissions are not considered. The page describes the program as being for independent and university press titles; it does not explicitly address self-published books, so an author publishing independently should confirm eligibility before counting on it. Books not selected can be sent to Clarion Reviews, Foreword's separate fee-based service.
Why it may matter
Foreword is the trade review outlet that treats independent publishing as its main beat rather than an afterthought, and its reviews reach booksellers and librarians through the same databases the larger journals feed. For a small-press title that is unlikely to get attention elsewhere, it is one of the better editorial shots. Selection is competitive and never guaranteed.
Do not confuse this with
Foreword runs two review programs, and both are called Foreword.
- Foreword Reviews magazine (this record): free, editorial consideration, prepublication only, about one in ten submissions selected.
- Foreword Clarion Reviews: a fee-based service. A review is guaranteed to be written, any publication date is accepted, and the purchaser decides whether it is published.
A Clarion review is a Clarion review, not a Foreword magazine review, and industry readers know the difference. Quote it by its full name.
Rules and deadlines change. We last checked this information on September 13, 2026. If you see something that needs updating, please tell us.
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