Mattea Roach (photo courtesy CBC)

A new one-hour literary program is coming to the CBC airwaves next month.

Bookends, hosted by writer, podcaster, and Jeopardy! phenom Mattea Roach, will air nationally on Sundays on CBC Radio beginning Sept. 8.

Roach will appear on the final episode of Writers & Company, the long-running program hosted by Eleanor Wachtel, who announced her retirement after 33 years earlier this year, on September 1.

The broadcaster had said a new literary program was in the works when the end of Writers & Company was announced, and Bookends will also air on Sundays and repeat on Wednesdays.

The CBC describes the new program as “a place for authors to have insightful conversations, offering listeners an opportunity to go inside the creative minds of writers topping bestsellers lists as well as an introduction to rising stars from Canada and around the world.” Planned guests include Canadian novelists David Huebert and Heather O’Neill, Iranian American poet Kaveh Akbar, and American humourist Sloane Crosley.

Roach, who won 23 Jeopardy! games in 2022, making them the most successful Canadian contestant in the program’s history, participated in CBC’s Canada Reads competition in 2023, when they championed the winning book, Kate Beaton’s graphic memoir Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands.

“Mattea’s sharp insights on writing and the literary scene make them the perfect choice to helm this new program and bring listeners across Canada in-depth and thoughtful conversations with a wide range of authors,” Sally Catto, general manager of  entertainment, factual & sports, said in a press release.