Conflict-of-interest policy
Our conflict-of-interest policy
Kids Books with Heart is owned by the team behind Lawley Publishing, a children’s book publisher. This policy explains how we keep that relationship from influencing any review.
Who owns this site
Kids Books with Heart and Lawley Publishing share owners. We say so in the footer of every public page, so readers can weigh our reviews with that in mind.
The same editorial standards apply to every book we review, whoever publishes it. Read them on our standards page.
How we handle Lawley Publishing titles
We accept Lawley Publishing titles on the same terms as any other book: the same packages, the same standards and the same disclosure. On top of that:
- Only reviewers with no affiliation with Lawley Publishing can be assigned a Lawley Publishing title. Our system will not let an editor assign one to an affiliated reviewer.
- Every published review of a Lawley Publishing title carries a conflict-of-interest notice next to the commissioned-review disclosure, linking to this policy.
- Critical reviews of Lawley Publishing titles are published like any other, including “Not recommended” verdicts.
The notice on those reviews reads:
How we identify a Lawley title
When authors submit a book, they tell us whether it is published by Lawley Publishing. We also treat any book whose publisher is listed as Lawley Publishing as a Lawley title, whatever the answer to that question.
Reviewers with a connection to Lawley
Some of our reviewers may have a connection to Lawley Publishing. Their profiles on our reviewers page say so, and they are never assigned Lawley Publishing titles.
What every review discloses
Separately from this policy, every published review states that it was paid for:
Commissioned review. Paid for by the author or publisher. The reviewer was not told which package was purchased, and the author did not see this review before it was published.
Questions or concerns
If you think a review has been affected by a conflict of interest, or you have a question about this policy, please contact us. Tell us which review you mean and why, and an editor will look into it.