Expanding The Spoken Word

The Spoken Word, the nationally syndicated radio program featuring author events recorded at independent bookstores throughout the country, is now available to hundreds of public radio stations nationwide via download at the Public Radio Exchange, a cooperative syndication platform. The show is currently carried on about 40 stations.

Several new segments were also recently added to The Spoken Word's original format: "Book Sense Picks," which explores five titles per week from the more recent Book Sense Picks monthly list, with dialogue between program producer Daren Wang and book reviewer Tom Bell; "Handselling on the Radio With Robin Fisher," in which book reviewer Fisher calls an independent store somewhere in America to find out what's new and notable in his or her store, or what's selling particularly well that may not be found on anyone's bestseller list; and an occasional interview segment, featuring selected three- to six-minute author interviews from around the country.

Plans are also underway to make The Spoken Word available at the end of July as Public Radio Partnership's inaugural podcast. The platform is being beta tested now and the most recent program is available for downloading at the Apple iTunes website.

Eight regional booksellers associations are sponsors of the program: Great Lakes, Midwest, Mountains & Plains, New Atlantic, Northern California, Pacific Northwest, Southern, and Southern California. The American Booksellers Association is also helping to sponsor The Spoken Word program.

The Spoken Word website includes direct links to bookstores in participating regions, a link to the Book Sense Picks on BookSense.com; a listing of "This Week's Book Sense Picks With Tom Bell" on the "Upcoming Shows" page on the site; and a new "Handselling" link, which contains book titles and authors, along with store name. A link to www.booksigningsusa.net leads visitors to regional website pages, such as the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance's "Authors 'Round the South," where they can find information about author appearances at local independent bookstores.

To learn more about The Spoken Word, visit www.spokenwordradio.org.