Grand Central Circle FAQs

Grand Central Publishing’s ambassador program is called Grand Central Circle. It is managed by the GCP Marketing Team with the goal of creating a community of book creators and connecting them with our upcoming titles so they can share their thoughts with their engaged audiences.

As a member of Grand Central Circle you will:

• Receive our revamped monthly newsletter that will feature exclusive content, publishing BTS, and a form to request finished copies for review from GCP, Balance, Cardinal, Da Capo, and Legacy Lit.
• Be auto-approved for GCP titles on NetGalley.
• Get exclusive early access to things like galleys, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more.
• Be followed by GCP on your social platforms where we are always looking for content to share to our stories.
• Receive a Grand Central Circle welcome package!

We have loved running our ambassador program, A Grand Time and our grateful to the thousands of reviewers that have been a part of it. Our hope is that with a smaller ambassador program, we will have more opportunities to deepen relationships with the influencers we work with and form a strong creator community.

Apply at this link by June XX.

We are looking for Instagram and TikTok creators with public, active platforms who are over 18 years old and based in the US with at least 3,000 followers.

There are a variety of factors that we look at but the most important is that you have a platform where you post your book reviews consistently and that your content is engaging. We love to see when a reviewer’s passion for reading shines through!

The number of followers you have is not the most important factor and shouldn’t keep you from applying to our program! You may not have tens of thousands of followers, but you may have thoughtful reviews or beautiful book photos that would make you a good fit for the program. 

Don’t worry! Anyone who applies will still be kept in our database and be some of the first people marketers consider for targeted outreach for a specific title. Just because you aren’t accepted, doesn’t mean you won’t be seeing us in your inbox.

Also, we will reopen applications in one year for people to have the chance to reapply.

Yes! We are consistently adding new titles on NetGalley for request. See all titles currently available to request here.

Make sure your profile and bio are up-to-date! The information you provide there is all we have to go on when approving you for a title on NetGalley, so including direct links to your socials or other reviewing platform is very important! We also consider your Feedback Ratio when determining approvals so try to keep it at a high percentage for the best chance at approval.

Yes! Email us at gcp.marketing@hbgusa to make that request and make sure to include your mailing address! If we are able to fulfill your request we will let you know.

If you’re a blogger, bookstagrammer, or influencer, we recommend you request the book on NetGalley instead! That’s the platform our GCP marketing team uses and our primary way to share ebooks with influencers. Edelweiss approvals are handled by another department.

Email us at gcp.marketing@hbgusa to make that request and make sure to include one book per email, your link to where you talk about books, why you’re excited to read, and your mailing address! If we are able to fulfill your request we will let you know.

Yes, we strive to prioritize creators from marginalized identities when connecting readers to titles. If you are a creator who is interested in any title that reflects your identity, please email us your interest at gcp.marketing@hbgusa to make that request and make sure to include one book per email, your link to where you talk about books, why you’re excited to read, and your mailing address.

Finished copies of books will be available to request in our monthly newsletter to members of Grand Central Circle about a month in advance of publication. If you would like to read a book earlier, we make ebook files available on NetGalley sometimes as early as six months before publication.

Sending physical galleys is dependent on the book and strategy for that campaign. Galleys will sometimes be featured in the monthly newsletter or be pitched to creators by the title marketer.

If there’s a specific galley you are interested in, email us at gcp.marketing@hbgusa to make that request and make sure to include one book per email, your link to where you talk about books, why you’re excited to read, and your mailing address! If we are able to fulfill your request we will let you know.

Our hope is always that influencers will enjoy the complimentary book and post an honest review about it on their platform! However, we require nothing in exchange for the free copy we provide—what you post on your platform is up to your discretion. 

That’s okay! Not every book is for every reader. If you don’t want to feature a book on your platform because you didn’t enjoy it or didn’t finish it, you’re under no obligation. You are always welcome to share your honest thoughts about GCP reads and you won’t be excluded from our program if you didn’t like a book. We still appreciate the feedback!

In general, it’s great to see reviews posted on a book’s publication day or during release week. However, there are a variety of factors that may keep you from doing that—perhaps you didn’t receive the book far enough in advance, had other content scheduled, or recieved an early galley and have a review ready way ahead of pub. That’s fine!

It’s up to you to decide when to post a review on your platform. We understand that many readers pick up books based on their mood, so sometimes you may opt for a science fiction novel instead of the memoir you originally planned. That’s a normal part of the reading life and a review posted at any time in the weeks leading up to and following the book’s release is still helpful to us and the author!

Posting your reviews on multiple outlets is a great way to generate buzz for an author or a book so this is always appreciated.

If you’ve been in touch with someone from the GCP team, it’s always helpful to pass along the links when your reviews are available. For members of Grand Central Circle, your monthly request form will have an optional field where you can share links to recent reviews if you wish.

Yes, it’s a helpful way for us to see your posts about GCP books! We are @GrandCentralPub across all platforms.

If you loved a book and gave it five stars, then yes! Just remember, authors are humans with feelings so be thoughtful in the posts you choose to tag an author in.