Oprah, Apple start new chapter with 'Oprah’s Book Club'
"Oprah's Book Club", which has propelled writers to bestsellers lists for decades, is coming to Apple's streaming television service, which is set to launch in the next few weeks.
Oprah Winfrey's book club series is one of several that have had more details released to the public in recent weeks, including a trailer for "See," which stars Jason Mamoa. "The Morning Show," starring Jennifer Anniston and Steve Carell is another anticipated series. The first episode of Winfrey's book club will be available when the service launches. The exclusive series will connect readers worldwide to powerful, thought-provoking authors hand-picked by the media mogul herself.
“Few people in the world can bring us together like Oprah, whose compassion and grace celebrating the power of books are unmatched,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in the company’s announcement.
Apple TV+ is set to launch Nov. 1. Apple is backing its streaming service with a sizable investment. The company plans to spend $6 billion on developing programming for its streaming platform, which has undercut competitors with a subscription of $4.99 a month. Comparatively, Hulu offers streaming content starting at $5.99 a month and Netflix charges about $9 per month to access their online catalog of streaming movies, TV shows and other exclusive media.
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Winfrey, was one of a select group of A-listers, like Stephen Speilberg and Jennifer Anniston, who signed on to Apple TV+ projects early on. In March, she and others gave scant details about the projects they would be developing for Apple. At the time, Winfrey said she was developing two documentaries and "the most stimulating book club on the planet."
To kick off the vibrant series is Ta-Nehisi Coates’ first novel “The Water Dancer.”
Oprah, elated over the announcement, told her Twitter followers: “The only thing more thrilling than being captivated by a book is being able to share it with others,” adding that the books she picked will enthrall.
For the first episode, Oprah will interview Coates before a live audience at Apple Carnegie Library in Washington. A new episode will be available every two months.
The novel “captured the devastation and resilience of those enslaved” Winfrey told The Associated Press during a recent telephone interview. It is said to be the result of countless drafts, a shift from multiple narrators to a single voice, some needed advice from fellow writers and hundreds of thousands of words discarded. Coates’ research ranged from reading interviews with ex-slaves and consulting a 19th-century Farmer’s Almanac — books duly pictured on his Instagram account — to his numerous and revelatory visits to former plantations.
“I have not felt this way about a book since ‘Beloved,’” Winfrey said of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by her friend and literary idol Toni Morrison, who died in August.
Other celebrities have joined in her adornment over the book such as Tyler Perry who is told his Twitter followers to join him in reading the "powerful" novel.
“The Water Dancer” is available for pre-order now on Apple Books in both ebook and audiobook formats and is set to debut Tuesday. Apple has pledged that for each copy of books selected by Oprah and purchased through Apple Books, it will make a contribution to the American Library Association to support local libraries.
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“It’s our honor to provide a new platform for Oprah’s Book Club and support the American Library Association in opening hearts and minds to the joy of reading,” Cook said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
