Q. I publish memoirs. One of my authors wants to include selected blurbs and reviews as part of the front matter. I’ve seen this done in other books under the heading “Advance praise for this book” or a similar heading. My questions to CMOS are (1) is it appropriate to include blurbs and reviews as part of the front matter, and (2) if so, where should they be placed? Thanks.
A. Many publishers include such blurbs. As you say, you’ve seen them yourself. Academic/scholarly publishers have rarely done this in the past, but it’s becoming more common; CMOS now covers praise pages in paragraph 1.17 and suggests that they can generally appear in the front matter of a book, before the half title (and sometimes on the cover as well). You can also browse the latest memoirs at a bookstore or library to learn what’s in fashion.