Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in June 2023. While the airtimes are out of date, we hope you still enjoy learning about “The Bookmark.”
This summer, KAMU celebrates 100 episodes of “The Bookmark” – an original TV collaboration between KAMU and Texas A&M University Press. To celebrate the 100th episode, we asked Host and Executive Producer Christine Brown to share her favorite moments from the show so far.
The Beginnings
In 2017, I was talking with some of the KAMU staff at a division meeting and the idea of collaborating on a television program came up. We set up a meeting, I toured the studio and we came up with a plan for a show where I would interview authors of books from Texas A&M University Press and the Texas Book Consortium.
We filmed our first episode of “The Bookmark” in February 2017. While I don’t have a background in broadcasting, I do have a degree in English, so reading a book and discussing it was certainly something I was comfortable with. We carefully selected our first guest: then Texas A&M Women’s Basketball Coach Gary Blair. He was the perfect first guest because his book, “A Coaching Life,” had just come out and he’s comfortable in front of the cameras. Who better to coach me through my first episode than an accomplished coach?
Mixing It Up
Early on we did our first hybrid episode for the book “Live from Aggieland” by Rob Clark. The book recounts past legendary performances that happened in the Brazos Valley. As part of the launch, we had an event where local musicians played covers of artists featured in the book including Johnny Cash, Elvis, Willie Nelson and more. KAMU recorded the event and we were able to feature concert footage as part of the episode.
I certainly have to mention my first non-human guest, a snake named Lucky. The author of “Herping Texas: The Quest for Reptiles and Amphibians” brought Lucky with him to help illustrate how fascinating and non-threatening most reptiles can be. Lucky had excellent media training and even looked (and slithered) right into the camera for the promo.
The most uncomfortable episode to film was no one’s fault but the Texas summer. The air conditioning went out (in August, of course), but the show must go on, and we filmed the “Explore Texas” episode as scheduled, with our guest who was a great sport.
Refreshed Look
Production shut down during the pandemic in 2020, but we came back strong in 2022 with “Scared Fearless” from author Kathryn Childers, who was one of the first female secret service agents. She’s a dynamic speaker with great stories to tell and was the perfect guest to re-launch the show on our new set.
We’ve now hit the milestone of 100 episodes, filmed over these past six years. I’ve had on 116 guests and featured 107 books. I’m grateful that we were able to film our 100th episode in a special location: Duddley’s Draw, one of the bars featured in the book “Texas Dives.” I think it enriched our discussion.
When we started “The Bookmark” back in 2017 I could not have imagined we would get this far, but I have found that I love doing the show and talking to authors about their books. I’m grateful for this partnership between KAMU and Texas A&M University Press, and I’m looking forward to the next 100!
The 100th episode of “The Bookmark” debuts Tuesday, June 27 at 4:30 p.m. on KAMU-TV and reairs Saturday, July 1 at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, July 4 at 4:30 p.m. and Saturday, July 8 at 6:30 p.m. An audio version also airs on 90.9 KAMU-FM on Sunday, July 2 at 2 p.m.
Stream “The Bookmark” anytime online on PBS.org.
Christine Brown is the Publicity and Advertising Manager for Texas A&M University Press, which is the only university press in the United States with its own dedicated television show. Questions? Email Christine at christinebrown@tamu.edu.
