Episode Description:

Name: PBS Books Readers Club – Horse and All Creatures Great & Small
Start: 2024-01-31T20:00:00-05:00
End: 2024-01-31T21:00:00-05:00

Join the PBS Books Readers Club hosts Fred, Lauren, Heather, and Princess as they sit down with Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Geraldine Books to discuss her bestselling novel HORSE. We’ll talk with Geraldine about the captivating relationship between horse and human, her process when writing this novel, and get to know more about her life off the pages. With the not to miss season 4 of All Creatures Great & Small finally here, we sit down with the new Executive Producer, Jamie Crichton, to get an inside look on what’s in store for our beloved charters, learn about adapting these treasured tails from Darrowby, and learn about life on set of the MASTERPIECE favorite.

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Guest Biographies:

Geraldine Brooks, Author of Horse

Geraldine Brooks is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel March and the international bestsellers The Secret Chord, Caleb’s Crossing, People of the Book, and Year of Wonders (recently optioned by Olivia Colman). She has also written the acclaimed nonfiction works Nine Parts of Desire and Foreign Correspondence. Brooks started out as a reporter in her hometown, Sydney, and went on to cover conflicts as a Wall Street Journal correspondent in Bosnia, Somalia, and the Middle East. Brooks lives in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts with her sons; her horses, Valentine and Screaming Hot Wings; and a dog named Bear.

James Crichton, Executive Producer and Lead Writer of Season 4 of All Creatures Great and Small

Jamie is currently Lead Writer and Executive Producer on Series 4 of All Creatures Great & Small (Playground / Channel 5 / PBS Masterpiece). His previous work includes Three Pines (Left Bank / Amazon), The Last Kingdom (Carnival / Netflix), Grantchester (Kudos / ITV / PBS Masterpiece), The Tunnel (Kudos / Sky Atlantic), Law & Order: UK (Kudos / ITV) and Ripper Street (Tiger Aspect / BBC).

His crime thriller Bogland won the Grand Prize in the American Screenwriters Association International Screenwriting Competition. Prior to becoming a writer Jamie was Head of Development at Really Useful Films, where he sourced and developed new ideas and writers, as well as managing and script editing the development slate.

His original feature screenplay The Dahls (Raw Film & TV), is in development with Pathé, and he has adapted Belinda Bauer’s Rubbernecker (Film Cymru Wales) and Michael Morpurgo’s The Butterfly Lion.

Readers Club Hosts:

Heather Marie Montilla

Heather-Marie Montilla, a dynamic integrative leader, is an educator and nonprofit manager. She has worked in the nonprofit sector and libraries for over two decades, making a positive impact in arts, cultural, educational, and community-building arenas.

Having joined the PBS Books team as their Library Bureau Chief in Fall 2018, Montilla is now the National Director of PBS Books and has interviewed more than 150 writers. In addition, she is a faculty member at Michigan State University and Eastern Michigan University for their Arts and Cultural/Entertainment Management Programs. Having been an Executive Director for 8 years, Heather has a wide range of experience in management, finance, strategic planning, marketing, and fundraising. Heather holds a MPA From Columbia University, a MLIS from Wayne State University, and a bachelor’s from Duke University. She lives in Chicagoland, and is married with four children, a dog, and a bird.

Princess Weekes

Princess Weekes is an award winning writer and video essayist who works at breaking down the intersections between race, gender, and pop culture. Formally an Assistant Editor at The Mary Sue, co-host of Netflix’s The Geeked Podcast, and co-host and co-writer on the PBS Digital Series It’s Lit. On weekends she works as a bookseller at a local bookstore. When not reading or writing she can be found playing TTRPGs of cuddling with her cat, Lola.

Lauren Smith

Executive Producer and host of national PBS programming at Detroit Public TV, Lauren develops content for PBS and other distributors of public media for broadcast, streaming, and other digital channels and has executive-produced and/or produced over 60 national broadcast and programs. Her passion is to develop inspiring, entertaining, and educational content alongside the best national and international talent, and to engage important content with communities across the country. Lauren loves to read and has worked to develop and produce PBS Books content for nearly ten years!

Fred Nahhat

Fred Nahhat is an Emmy Award-winning producer, host, and presenter for Detroit’s PBS station, where he serves as Sr. VP of Production. A 30-year broadcast veteran, Fred has hosted and produced numerous programs for Public TV – including music specials from Il Volo, Celtic Gold and the New Divas – as well as other series and specials “New Year’s Eve with the DSO”, “The Detroit Dream Cruise,” “The PBS Books Readers Club” and “Get Up, Get Out,” among others.

He is a graduate of Wayne State University and a member of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Michigan Chapter, USA Hockey, and Leadership Detroit.

PBS Books Readers Club – Horse and All Creatures Great & Small

January 31 at 8:00 pm – 9:00 pm EST