Background and Production
Book TV covers established and upcoming nonfiction authors, mainly in the subject areas of history, biography and public affairs. Approximately 2,000 authors are featured annually, and in one year may cover as many as 60,000 titles. The network's production budget for Book TV is approximately $600,000 per year.
Like C-SPAN's weekly coverage of government affairs, the Book TV the production style is "no frills", focusing on panel discussions, book signings and visits to bookstores. Book TV's coverage is weighted toward government, politics and history, in line with C-SPAN's weekly programming. However, the topics represented vary, ranging from the genealogy of Greek mythology to the “use and abuse” of the English language. While C-SPAN does not usually cover narrative fiction due to its nonfiction mission, it may occasionally be featured, as when Robert MacNeil and Jim Lehrer appeared in 1999 to talk about their novels.
Book TV interviews are characterized by a focus on the author, rather than the host, and an unstructured format allowing the author to guide the discussion. As with other C-SPAN programming, viewer call-ins are featured, allowing writers to hear directly from their readers.
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