When the book ends, the conversation begins. CBC today announced the new one-hour national literary program BOOKENDS WITH MATTEA ROACH, premiering on Sunday, September 8. Airing Sundays at 1 p.m. (1:30 NT, 3 PT) on CBC Radio and CBC Listen and repeating Wednesdays at 1 p.m. (1:30 NT), host Mattea Roach will speak with bestselling and emerging Canadian and international writers about their work, the world and our place in it, providing listeners with big questions to ponder and new books to read.
“I’m incredibly excited to move into this new role, which I hope and expect will allow me to grow as both a reader and an interviewer,” said Mattea Roach. “I’ve always loved books and am curious about creativity and the world around us. I’ll be speaking with authors from different genres, different parts of the world and different stages in their career. This is an amazing opportunity for both me and our audience to get to know writers I love and be introduced to exciting new voices shaping today’s literature.”
BOOKENDS is the go-to place for authors to have insightful conversations, offering listeners an opportunity to go inside the creative minds of writers topping bestsellers lists as well as an introduction to rising stars from Canada and around the world. Conversations to look forward to include Iranian American poet Kaveh Akbar (Martyr!), American humourist Sloane Crosley (Grief is for People) and Canadian novelists David Huebert (Oil People) and Heather O’Neill (The Capital of Dreams). Listeners are also encouraged to follow @CBCBooks on Instagram and CBC Arts’ YouTube Shorts for interview highlights and behind-the-scenes videos.
“Mattea’s sharp insights on writing and the literary scene make them the perfect choice to helm this new program and bring listeners across Canada in-depth and thoughtful conversations with a wide range of authors,” said Sally Catto, General Manager, Entertainment, Factual & Sports, CBC.
Roach is a writer, podcaster and book lover based in Toronto. In the spring of 2022 they appeared on the game show Jeopardy!, winning 23 games and becoming the most successful Canadian contestant in the history of the program. They also won Canada’s great book debate, Canada Reads, in 2023 when they championed Kate Beaton’s graphic novel Ducks. Roach is originally from Halifax.
As part of the final episode of CBC’s celebrated long-running literary program WRITERS & COMPANY, Roach will sit down with retiring host and veteran broadcaster Eleanor Wachtel to discuss Roach’s new role and what to look forward to from BOOKENDS. The episode will air Sunday, September 1 at 3 p.m. ET/AT (3:30 p.m. NT, 5 p.m. PT/MT/CT) on CBC Radio and CBC Listen. Wachtel announced her retirement in May 2023.
