Lois Lowry, Gary Paulsen, Beverly Cleary, Katherine Paterson and Tomie dePaola are just a few of the authors whose work has been discussed and whose voices have been heard on The Loose Leaf Book Company, a weekly public radio program for adults devoted to the world of children's books. Hosted by radio personality Tom Bodett, himself a children's book author (Williwaw!), the show initially aired on 19 affiliate stations when it debuted in January 2000. Today, Loose Leaf is heard on 227 stations and boasts 250,000 listeners, a rate of growth termed "phenomenal" by San Francisco—based executive producer Ben Manilla. "I've been a radio producer for 25 years," Manilla said, "and these numbers are beyond good. It is amazing how programmers and the audience have warmed to this show." But now the program is airing reruns, and the future of Loose Leaf is—well—somewhat up in the air.
The brainchild of Bodett and Manilla, who in the early 1990s worked together on a commercially syndicated radio program, Loose Leaf is advised by a rotating board of individuals involved in various aspects of children's publishing and has been sustained since its inception by a group of publishers and individuals who have invested in the show as co-production partners. Those helping to fund the program, either during the creation of the pilot or during the ensuing months, are Random House, Harcourt, Little, Brown, Houghton Mifflin, Winslow Press, Scholastic, Hyperion and literary agent Sterling Lord. In addition, Simon & Schuster, Scholastic, HarperCollins, Holt and Farrar, Straus & Giroux have supported Loose Leaf through underwriting arrangements in which their books are promoted (on commercial radio this would be called advertising).
"We are so appreciative that we have reached this point and we know that we got here on the good graces of the publishing world," noted Manilla, who is hopeful that the publishing community will continue to support his efforts. Yet he is also pursuing another route to ensure the continued life and growth of Loose Leaf. "We are looking to find a major corporate underwriter unrelated to the publishing business," he explained, "and are speaking with several major companies that are household names. The challenge that we are up against is that this is the worst advertising climate in 10 years. Yet we believe that there is an underwriter out there who cares about literacy and the culture of America."
Spreading a Love of Literature
Manilla, Bodett and a third partner, Vermont-based literary agent Jeff Dwyer, have worked hard to make Loose Leaf accessible to as many listeners as possible. They decided early on to forgo the standard procedure in public radio of asking affiliates, after an introductory period, for a "carriage fee" and instead continue to offer the program to stations free of charge. "There are many stations in this country that cannot afford to air the popular public radio shows and we did not want that to be the case with ours," Manilla said.
The creators of the show recently formed the Loose Leaf Foundation to help carry out the radio program's mission of encouraging literacy and alerting parents, educators, librarians and booksellers about the best books for children—particularly new releases. A major project of the foundation is the Partners in Reading program, which has chapters so far in Wichita, San Francisco, Seattle and Abilene, Tex. In Bodett's words, "This is by far the most exciting potential I see for our future. These locally run chapters are organized with our assistance and involve community schools, school and public libraries, universities and booksellers, who harmonize their existing reading programs with the Loose Leaf broadcast."
The show's creators also reach out to listeners through a companion Web site, www.looseleaf.org, which in Bodett's words, "allows listeners to interact with what they hear on the program and actually view illustrations as they are being discussed." And visitors to the Web site as well as the show's listeners have an opportunity to buy books online through Loose Leaf's alliance with ABA's BookSense. com; under this arrangement, a percentage of each book sale is donated to the public radio station of the purchaser's choice.
Manilla and Bodett both emphasize the novelty of their venture, as well as the fact that they are learning as they go along. "I really enjoy the fact that there is nothing like us out there and we are breaking new ground," remarked Bodett, who was quick to add, "My role on the program is to ask questions. I am not a know-it-all host by any measure. I am a 'wants-to-know-it-all' host."
The producers of the show are preparing two new Loose Leaf episodes for later this year: a show devoted to the Harry Potter novels, scheduled to coincide with the November release of the film; and a special fund-raising episode that stations will air during their fall pledge drives. The fund-raiser show will feature an interview with Newbery Medalist Paul Fleischman and a dramatization of his new novel, Seek, which is, fittingly, written as a play for voices. Beyond that, the forecast for the program is uncertain, pending the results to the creators' search for a corporate underwriter. "We've knocked on a lot of doors and I feel we're getting close, but we don't know if an organization will step up and keep us afloat in time," Manilla conceded. "We are applying for a grant from the Funding for Corporate Broadcasting, but that process takes time. We hate to think of it as a reality, but if we are forced to close the door on Loose Leaf, we will not be able to open it again." Manilla and Bodett will carry their message to publishers later this month, at the Children's Book Council's annual meeting on September 25, where they hope to rally support for the show.
