PBS’s The Great American Read to Premiere May 22

PBS will debut the premiere episode of The Great American Read, hosted by Meredith Vieira, at 8:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday, May 22. The official trailer is available here.

The eight-part series designed to spark a national conversation about reading will feature entertaining and informative documentary segments with compelling testimonials from celebrities, authors, notable Americans, and book lovers across the country, including Margaret Atwood, Chelsea Clinton, Morgan Freeman, George R.R. Martin, Shaquille O’Neal, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jason Reynolds, Gabrielle Union, Ming-Na Wen, and more.

America’s 100 best-loved titles, which were announced on April 20, includes a wide variety of titles, from classics like Herman Melville’s Moby Dick to contemporary young adult novels like John Green’s Looking for Alaska.

With the premiere of the launch episode on May 22, The Great American Read will invite viewers across the nation to vote to choose America’s best-loved book. Voting will close on October 18, and the grand finale will air October 23.

To help booksellers promote The Great American Read, PBS has provided a folder of downloadable assets, which includes the list of 100 featured titles as well as logos, shelf-talkers, bookmarks, posters, and more. ABA’s May Red Box, delivered to stores earlier this month, included Great American Read buttons, stickers, bookmarks, and an easel-back.

Learn more about The Great American Read, and watch Bookselling This Week for updates.