Insiders speculate that the Washington Post could close its book section in the near future. Both Politico and the National Book Critics Circle blog are reporting on rumors that the Washington Post‘s Book World section is in trouble.

From Politico’s Michael Calderone: “High-level discussions about ending Book World have indeed taken place, according to a Post source with knowledge of the talks. However, no final decision has been made.”

According the NBCC blog, a “reliable source” said that editor Marcus Brauchli may recommend Book World’s “elimination” to the paper’s board. Recently, Marie Arana left the section after 15 years of editing the Washington Post Book World section. In her final post, she concluded:

“Few newspapers value books as deeply as The Washington Post does, and I consider myself fortunate to work for an institution whose owners and chief executives (the Graham family) have made their support for books coverage abundantly clear.”

Update–Brauchli responds to the rumors: “We are absolutely committed to book reviews and coverage of literature, publishing and ideas in The Post. Our readership has a huge interest in these areas.”