This Sunday, the Toronto Star will begin carrying content from The New York Times‘ Sunday book review section.
The section will be a 12-page tabloid that Star spokesperson Bob Hepburn describes as an “abridged version” of the weekly New York Times Book Review, which typically runs between 28 and 32 pages. It will contain a selection of book reviews, essays, and bestseller lists as chosen by Times staff, as well as advertising sold from out of Toronto. The supplementary section will not impact the Star‘s existing books coverage, Hepburn says.
As part of the content-sharing agreement, the Sunday Star will also begin carrying a new 16-page broadsheet news and commentary section culled from the Times. For the next six weeks, home-delivery subscribers will receive the supplemental sections for free, after which they can request delivery of the sections for an additional $1 per week. As of Nov. 28, the price of newsstand editions of the Sunday Star will increase from $1 to $2.
The Star has launched a major multimedia marketing campaign to promote the new sections. This is one of the largest marketing campaigns the Star has launched in many years, consumer marketing executive Sandy MacLeod said in a press release. We believe that through the combination of newspaper, television, radio, point-of-sale, telemarketing, and e-mail marketing efforts we will reach almost every adult reader in the Greater Toronto Area.
Star books editor Dan Smith could not be reached for comment.