Finally,
books will get their due.
PBS
is launching an eight-episode documentary series that will explore and
highlight the role of reading in American culture. It will premier in May, 2018.
The
show, The Great American Read, will
feature a selected list of the 100 most-loved books. It will be chosen by the public and a panel
of literary experts.
Based
on a survey of Americans conducted via YouGov, a palling organization,
responses to the question: “What is your
best-loved novel?” produced a list of
1,200 titles. From there, the list was culled
down. The top 100 titles are based on
poll results. Then experts took over to
create a top 10 list.
PBS,
along with Nutopia, a TV production company, and Aevitas Creative Management, a
literary agency, recruited a panel of volunteer experts that included heads
of not-for-profit literary organizations, librarians, members of the literary
press and educators. The panel will
review the final list of 100 books to see that they represent the full range of
American literature.
According
to Publishers Weekly, “The show will
air thematic episodes ranging from Being American and Heroes, to Growing
Up. It will also feature interviews with
celebrities and ordinary Americans about their passion for books and the role
of reading in their lives.”
Television
has been around for a long time.
Developed in the 1920’s and popularized by the early 1950’s, we’ve
waited a long time for TV to honor books, reading, and publishing. C-Span has done the most in this area,
filming author speaking appearances for decades. More recently, airing of the National Book
Awards on TV has contributed to the cause as well.
But now books finally get some real exposure. Thank you, PBS!
It
doesn’t have to conclude with this mini-series. We can continue the party and
build on this foundation to expand into something bigger. The book world has more than enough subject
matter, personalities, and fans to justify creating a regular series that can
air with dozens of shows annually.
Imagine
if we had a behind-the-scenes look at all aspects of book writing, publishing,
book marketing, printing, designing, and packaging? What if we put each genre under a
microscope? What if we highlighted
literacy, free speech, and creativity?
What if we talked about bookstores, book reviewers, and best-seller
lists?
If
anyone can write a great script for TV it should be the book industry. Books on TV is the next chapter that the publishing industry deserves.
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