Arts Reviewing ─ A Practical Guide

Arts Reviewing: A Practical Guide is an accessible introduction to the world of arts criticism. Drawing on professional expertise and a range of cultural reviews from music, film, theatre, visual arts, television and books, Andy Plaice discusses different approaches to arts criticism, with tips on crafting great reviews.

Chapters explore:

• a brief history of arts criticism;

• researching and preparing for an assignment;

• legal and ethical boundaries when reviewing;

• finding your own writing style;

• starting and sustaining a career in arts criticism in the digital age.

The book is underpinned by over 20 interviews with leading practitioners from across Britain, America and Australia. They offer fascinating insights into the life of a critic, including their best and worst career moments and the debates impacting the field of arts criticism. Interviewees include Neil McCormick, rock critic at the Daily Telegraph, the Guardian theatre critic Lyn Gardner and television critic Mark Lawson (BBC/ the Guardian).

New approaches to reviewing techniques and writing style are combined with real-world advice from leading professionals in the field, making this book an ideal resource for students and graduates of journalism, cultural studies and media studies.

Andy Plaice is a senior lecturer in journalism at De Montfort University, Leicester, having previously edited local newspapers. As a feature writer and theatre and TV critic, he has written for The Stage, The Times, Sunday Express, Writing magazine, The Arts Desk and WhatsOnStage.