Back when Apple first introduced Apple TV+, the company teased the giant partnership with Oprah Winfrey, and now the company is finally detailing what that means for Apple Books and Apple TV+.
Apple announced this morning that Winfrey is launching “Oprah’s Book Club” in Apple Books starting today. The idea is to build up the book club of old, but this time with a far more global approach.
Apple and Oprah Winfrey today announced Oprah’s Book Club will connect a community of readers worldwide to stories that truly matter by today’s most thought-provoking authors. Winfrey, the esteemed producer, actress, talk show host, philanthropist and CEO of OWN, will partner with Apple to build a vibrant, global book club that has the power to both transport and transform people — turning every book into an opportunity for self-discovery, and bringing the world together through reading.
The first book included in Oprah’s Book Club will launch tomorrow, September 24. It’s from author Ta-Nehisi Coates and is entitled The Water Dancer. It can be pre-ordered through Apple Books right now if you are so inclined, in either the eBook format or as an audiobook.
But that’s not all. We’ve known that Winfrey will be a partner of Apple TV+ since its unveiling. Oprah’s Book Club will also have an exclusive series on the streaming platform, debuting on November 1, with the same name. That first episode will see Winfrey interviewing Coates about his latest novel.
What’s more, for every book sold from Oprah’s Book Club selection, Apple will make a direct contribution to the American Library Association, which supports local libraries.
Here’s a comment from Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, as part of the announcement:
Few people in the world can bring us together like Oprah, whose compassion and grace celebrating the power of books are unmatched,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “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.
And words from Winfrey as well:
I am who I am today because of the experience of learning to read at an early age. Reading opened up a whole world for me beyond the red dirt road and my grandmother’s porch in Mississippi,” said Oprah Winfrey. “I want to do that for everybody. And the opportunity to do this with Apple, to speak to people all over the world about the pleasures, the excitement, the tension, the drama that a good book can bring you … I don’t know what’s better than that.
Oprah’s Book Club will be easily discoverable within the Apple Books app. And it will more than likely have plenty of prominence within the Apple TV+ streaming service as well.
Are you looking forward to the revival of Oprah’s Book Club? Planning on joining along?