Bookworm (radio show)
{{Short description|KCRW show hosted by Michael Silverblatt}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox radio show
| name = Bookworm
| runtime = 30 minutes
| home_station = KCRW
| presenter = Michael Silverblatt
| country = United States of America
| language = American English
| website = {{URL|https://www.kcrw.com/culture/shows/bookworm/|kcrw.com/bookworm}}
| first_aired = {{Start date|1989}}
| image = Bookworm radioshow.png
}}
Bookworm is an interview radio show hosted by Michael Silverblatt and produced by KCRW. The show featured interviews and discussions with authors and other literary figures. The show ran from 1989 to 2022, syndicated nationally on NPR.
Background
The show has been running since 1989 and has since become available as a podcast.{{Cite news |last=Porter |first=Ryan |date=January 22, 2017 |title=Curl Up With a Good Book Podcast: Ten of the Best Book- and Writing-Focused Podcasts Out There Right Now. |language=en-CA |work=The Toronto Star |publisher=Torstar |url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2017/01/22/curl-up-with-a-good-book-podcast.html |url-status=live |access-date=April 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129110648/https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2017/01/22/curl-up-with-a-good-book-podcast.html |archive-date=November 29, 2020 |issn=0319-0781}} Silverblatt was unpaid for the first five years that he hosted the show until receiving the "Lannan Literary Grant" from the Lannan Foundation.{{Cite web |last=Davis |first=Kristy |title=The Consummate Reader: KCRW's Bookworm Michael Silverblatt |url=https://www.oprah.com/spirit/kcrws-bookworm-michael-silverblatt |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423142715/https://www.oprah.com/spirit/kcrws-bookworm-michael-silverblatt |archive-date=April 23, 2021 |access-date=April 25, 2022 |website=Oprah.com |publisher=Harpo Productions |page=4 |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Lannan Foundation |url=https://lannan.org/literary/detail/bookworm/grant |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001025655/https://lannan.org/literary/detail/bookworm/grant |archive-date=October 1, 2020 |access-date=April 25, 2022 |website=Lannan Foundation |language=en-US}} The show aired on KCRW-FM (89.9) in Santa Monica on Thursdays at 2:30pm.{{Cite web |last=Kellogg |first=Carolyn |date=August 5, 2010 |title=Michael Silverblatt: Good Literary Listening |url=https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2010/08/michael-silverblatt-good-literary-listening.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130919072233/http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2010/08/michael-silverblatt-good-literary-listening.html |archive-date=September 19, 2013 |access-date=April 25, 2022 |website=LA Times Blogs |publisher=Nant Capital |language=en-US}} The show was also available on WNYC Radio 820-AM at 4:30pm on Sundays.{{Cite news |last=Shustack |first=Mary |date=March 15, 2001 |title=WABC Talks for a Cure During Fund-Raiser: For Book Lovers |pages=81 |work=The Journal News |publisher=Gannett |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100445985/wabc-talks-for-a-cure-during/ |access-date=April 25, 2022 |archive-date=April 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220425183736/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100445985/wabc-talks-for-a-cure-during/ |url-status=live }} The show is syndicated to more than fifty radio stations throughout the United States.{{Cite news |last= |date=March 16, 2013 |title=Guy Maddin in Conversation With Bookworm Host Michael Silverblatt at the News Café: Replay |language=en-CA |work=Winnipeg Free Press |publisher=FP Publications |url=https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/arts/bookworm-host-silverblatt-talks-to-maddin-at-news-cafe-198576241.html |url-status=live |access-date=April 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220425170643/https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/arts/bookworm-host-silverblatt-talks-to-maddin-at-news-cafe-198576241.html |archive-date=April 25, 2022}} According to Believer Magazine, Silverblatt has interviewed over twelve hundred writers.{{Cite web |last=Fay |first=Sarah |date=June 1, 2010 |title=An Interview with Michael Silverblatt |url=https://believermag.com/an-interview-with-michael-silverblatt/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019233328/https://believermag.com/an-interview-with-michael-silverblatt/ |archive-date=October 19, 2021 |access-date=April 25, 2022 |website=Believer Magazine |publisher=Black Mountain Institute |language=en-US}} David Foster Wallace was interviewed on the show and a tribute episode was later recorded after his death.{{Cite magazine |last=Krajeski |first=Jenna |date=September 22, 2008 |title=Gold for Silverblatt |url=http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/gold-for-silverblatt |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220425170727/https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/gold-for-silverblatt |archive-date=April 25, 2022 |access-date=April 25, 2022 |magazine=The New Yorker |publisher=Condé Nast |language=en-US}} The show used the song "You (Are A Human Animal)" as the theme song for twenty-one years until Sparks created a new theme song for the show in 2010.{{Cite web |last=Kellogg |first=Carolyn |date=September 3, 2010 |title='Bookworm' Debuts New Theme Song by Sparks |url=https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2010/09/bookworm-debuts-new-theme-song-by-sparks.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160702163744/http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2010/09/bookworm-debuts-new-theme-song-by-sparks.html |archive-date=July 2, 2016 |access-date=April 25, 2022 |website=LA Times Blogs |publisher=Nant Capital |language=en-US}}
Reception
Sarah Fay praised the show saying that Bookworm "reminds us that the literary interview can function as art."{{Cite web |last=Fay |first=Sarah |date=May 23, 2012 |title=The Precarious State of the Literary Interview |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/05/the-precarious-state-of-the-literary-interview/257384/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414153442/https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/05/the-precarious-state-of-the-literary-interview/257384/ |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |access-date=April 25, 2022 |website=The Atlantic |publisher=Emerson Collective |language=en-US}} Neil Denny commented on the show saying that "Bookworm has become a fixture of the US literary scene."{{Cite web |last=Denny |first=Neil |title=Little Atoms' Seven Best (Other) Book Podcasts |url=http://littleatoms.com/7-best-podcasts |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421235113/http://littleatoms.com/7-best-podcasts |archive-date=April 21, 2021 |access-date=April 25, 2022 |website=Little Atoms |language=en-US}} Simon Lowe of The Guardian praised the show saying that it "is a rare pleasure and unlike any other author interview you will hear."{{Cite web |last=Lowe |first=Simon |date=November 7, 2016 |title=Words in Your Ears: The 10 Best Books Podcasts—A Bookseller and Writer Chooses His Favourite Audio Options for Those Occasions When Actually Reading a Book Would Be Ill-Advised |url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2016/nov/07/words-in-your-ears-the-10-best-books-podcasts |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328115519/https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2016/nov/07/words-in-your-ears-the-10-best-books-podcasts |archive-date=March 28, 2022 |access-date=April 25, 2022 |website=The Guardian |language=en-GB}} Dana Dickey of PureWow recommended the show saying that "You'll feel smarter just by listening."{{Cite web |last=Dickey |first=Dana |date=December 4, 2020 |title=8 Los Angeles Podcasts We're Obsessed With Right Now |url=https://www.purewow.com/entertainment/los-angeles-podcasts |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210723005233/https://www.purewow.com/entertainment/los-angeles-podcasts |archive-date=July 23, 2021 |access-date=April 25, 2022 |website=PureWow |publisher=Gallery Media Group |language=en-US}} A Public Space called the show "the country's premier literary talk show" in 2018 when Silverblatt received The Deborah Pease Prize.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=October 1, 2018 |title=The Deborah Pease Prize: Michael Silverblatt to Receive the Inaugural Deborah Pease Prize From a Public Space |url=https://apublicspace.org/news/detail/the-deborah-pease-prize |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415134825/https://apublicspace.org/news/detail/the-deborah-pease-prize |archive-date=April 15, 2021 |access-date=April 25, 2022 |website=A Public Space |publisher=A Public Space Literary Projects |language=en-US}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|https://www.kcrw.com/culture/shows/bookworm/}}
- {{URL|https://www.npr.org/podcasts/381444882/k-c-r-w-s-bookworm|Bookworm}} on NPR
- {{URL|https://exchange.prx.org/series/32059-kcrw-s-bookworm|Bookworm}} on PRX
Category:1980s American radio programs