The Word was a weekly half-hour radio programme on the BBC World Service about books and writers.
Once a month its slot was taken over by World Book Club, in which listeners submitted questions to a famous writer.
The Word emerged from an earlier World Service book programme Meridian Books (which had several presenters, including Michael Rosen,[1] Verity Sharp,[2] and Rosemary Hartill,[3]) as well as a poetry request programme, Poems by Post.
[1] Each week the programme would typically feature an author interview and a report on a topic such as "new Malaysian writing".
In October 2008, it became an hour-long programme under the umbrella of the arts show The Strand and is broadcast on the first Saturday in the month.