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Kirkus Reviews is an American book review company located at 770 Broadway in New York City. Founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893-1980), it serves the book and literary trade sector, including libraries, publishers, literary and film agents, film and TV producers and booksellers. It was owned until 2006 by the Netherlands-based media and data company VNU; the sale of that public company was sold to private investors and renamed in January 2007 The Nielsen Company.

Kirkus Reviews is a serial published 24 times annually and reviews approximately 5,000 titles per year, including fiction, mysteries, science fiction, translations, nonfiction and children's and YA books. Such reviews are written three to four months prior to the publication of the reviewed works. Kirkus has long been a respected, authoritative pre-publication review source within the literary and film industries.

Kirkus Reviews was expanded in 2005 to include offshoots Kirkus Discoveries, Kirkus Reports and the Virginia Kirkus Literary Award, as well as the publishing-industry trade publication The Book Standard.

John Kilcullen is the president and publisher of Kirkus and The Book Standard; Tracey Davies, the managing director; Chuck Shelton, the managing editor; and Eric Liebetrau, associate editor, Kirkus Special Projects.

In 1933, Virginia Kirkus (1893-1980), once the head of the children's book department of Harper & Bros., launched the book review service that bears her name. She arranged to receive advance galley proofs of books from publishers, initially only 20 or so at first but eventually nearly every firm of any size in the industry. Kirkus read the galleys and wrote out brief, critical evaluations of their literary merit and probable popular appeal, which she distributed in a bimonthly newsletter published the first and 15th of each month. Initially the newsletter was sold by subscription to bookshops only but soon it was made available to libraries as well. The reviews gave bookstores an informed opinion on soon to be released books without the inherent bias and conflict of interest of the publishers. Kirkus reivews remain concise (approx. 320-word) reviews of forthcoming books, normally appearing two or three months prior to publication. Because of the large number of books released each week, a Kirkus review may be the only notice a new book has.

• Kirkus Reviews online
• Kirkus Discoveries
• Kirkus Reports
• Virginia Kirkus Literary Award
• The Book Standard