Accounts of the recruiting and vetting of reviewers in recent months indicate that editors tend to first seek a commitment that the person will do it. Then it's time for what Mr. Garner calls "my Kenneth Starr questions," a reference to the former Whitewater prosecutor: "Do you know the author? Have you written about this person, or vice versa? Are there any other potential conflicts of interest?"

Mr. Harris uses a simple test to determine whether a relationship between a potential reviewer and the author is too close: "Do you know the names of her children?" If the reviewer knows the names? "It's not good."

# posted by Gerry Canavan @ 10:15 PM  |