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BBC’s “Between The Covers” Is Back This March For a Sixth Season
Season 6 of Between The Covers is a six-part series on BBC Two that aims to unite the country through a shared love of reading, and the network has now announced its initial lineup and the six intriguing new novels that will be included in the upcoming season.
Each episode features Sara Cox as host and a different celebrity panel discussing a recently published book that merits more attention. The books are a carefully curated assortment meant to appeal to a wide range of readers. Each visitor has brought a discussion-starting BYOB (Bring Your Own Book).
Each episode this year will also feature a novel set in a Eurovision country as Liverpool and the UK prepare to host the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 on behalf of Ukraine.
The celebrity panellists keen to share their love of reading include Meera Syal, Alan Davies, Samantha Bond, Mel Giedroyc, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Sara Pascoe, Katie Melua, Adam Garcia, Cerys Matthews, Charlie Higson, Nick Knowles, Laura Whitmore, Angela Scanlon, DJ Spoony, Rob Rinder, Sunetra Sarker, Ivo Graham, Sophie Duker, Helen McGinn, Ore Oduba, Sara Barron, Gethin Jones and Joe Thomas.
The six newly published books carefully selected for the series (in broadcast order) are:
• In The Blink Of An Eye, by Jo Callaghan
• The Space Between Us, by Doug Johnstone
• Weyward, by Emilia Hart
• Strange Sally Diamond, by Liz Nugent
• Hungry Ghosts, by Kevin Jared Hosein
• Old God’s Time, by Sebastian Barry
The books set in Eurovision countries, in broadcast order, are:
• Burial Rights, by Hannah Kent (Iceland)
• Lullaby, by Leïla Slimani (France)
• Death And The Penguin, by Andrey Kurkov (Ukraine)
• The Summer Book, by Tove Jansson (Finland)
• I’m Not Scared, by Niccolò Ammaniti (Italy)
• My Family And Other Animals, by Gerald Durrell (Greece)
Sara Cox says: “Cannot wait to welcome more witty, wise and wonderful guests in to the world’s friendliest book club as we delve ‘between the covers’ for the sixth time!”
“We have six brand new books that I think might just be the best half dozen yet. Prepare to be taken on a whistle-stop tour of Europe – as we celebrate Eurovision by exploring six fantastic books set in countries competing in this year’s song contest.
“Plus of course our guests bring in their most treasured tome to wax lyrical about – so get ready for your teetering TBR [To Be Read] pile to be topped with more brilliant books.”
Amanda Ross, CEO of Cactus TV, who heads the book selection panel, says: “Our new book picks for this series are from an exciting mix of debut and renowned authors. They span centuries and continents, with incredible characters dealing with a wide range of adversity, from Witches to AI and Aliens. I can’t wait to see what our wonderful panellists make of them.”
Between The Covers is a BBC book club that welcomes and encourages both casual and dedicated readers across the United Kingdom. There will be Between The Covers stickers placed on the 12 novels chosen for the series, which can be found in bookstores, libraries, and online, inviting readers to read and discuss the books using the hashtag #BetweenTheCovers.
Emma Cahusac of BBC Arts and BBC Two commissioned the six-part series Between The Covers. Created and produced by Cactus TV, Exec Produced by Amanda Ross with Series Producer Pollyanne Conway.