Friday, March 28, 2008

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


4 Comments:

At March 28, 2008 2:05 PM , Blogger John F said...

Fantastic! This is the best news about SF in Canada I've heard in a long time. Now, maybe someone will defend a Canadian SF novel on "Canada Reads" next year...

I just hope the reading will be unabridged.

Anyway, congratulations Rob!

 
At March 29, 2008 6:55 AM , Blogger Mark Leslie said...

Rob, I see your "yay" and raise you another "yay!" I love that Wayne Gretzky analogy.

Congratulations!

 
At March 30, 2008 12:30 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

About bloody time.

 
At April 04, 2008 1:55 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Congratulatins Rob -- it is well deserved.

But I must point out to John that Canadian SF novel, Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson was on the 2008 Canada Reads defended by hip-hop poet, Jemeni.

And Timothy Findley's Not Wanted on the Voyage -- a retelling of the Noah story -- might also qualify as fantasy (depending on your point of view)

 

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