CBC Radio to serialize Rollback

CBC Radio One's Between the Covers will do a serialized reading of Robert J. Sawyer's Hugo Award-nominated Rollback later this year. Between the Covers airs across Canada, and presents novels in 15-minute chunks each weekday over several weeks. Billed as "Story Time for Adults," it has a huge positive impact on physical book sales in Canada.

Americans tend not to understand just how big a deal CBC Radio is for Canadians, but it is a huge part of our national identity. As my friend Terence M. Green, whose Shadow of Ashland was featured on Between the Covers several years ago (read by Michael Hogan, who went on to play Col. Tigh in the new Battlestar Galactica), said, "Only a Canadian understands how nice this is."

(But for authors in other countries, consider it this way: think of having a 30-second national radio commercial for your book. Now think of having thirty of those in a row. Now think of having that happen on fifteen or twenty consecutive weekdays. And now think of the broadcaster paying you, instead of the other way around, for the privilege of doing this.)

But for a Canadian, this is more about the ... recognition, the imprimatur. It's like ... like you're trying to play hockey, and Wayne Gretzky comes along and says, "Nice shot, kid ..." :)

Currently on Between the Covers, you can hear my buddy Paul Quarrington's comic King Leary, which just won the "Canada Reads" competition. Give a listen here.

So -- yay!

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site