LeVar Burton bringing his weekly short story podcast to Twitter as livestream series
American actor LeVar Burton has announced the launch of LeVar Burton Reads, a Twitter livestream read-aloud video series.
The series is a livestreamed version of his weekly short story podcast of the same name, which launched in June 2017.
Burton will read children's stories starting at 12 p.m. ET on Mondays, while Wednesday afternoons from 3 p.m. ET will be devoted to YA fiction. Friday evenings at 9 p.m. ET will feature short stories for adult readers.
"I figured that during this difficult time I could contribute by reading aloud to folks who could use some diversion for themselves and their families," Burton tweeted.
Good Morning, Y’all...<br> I am thrilled to announce that this coming Friday, APRIL 3RD, I’ll be reading a selection from master storyteller, <a href="https://twitter.com/neilhimself?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@neilhimself</a>, Neil Gaiman. 6pm Pacific - 9pm Eastern. #<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bydhttmwfi?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#bydhttmwfi</a> <a href="https://t.co/gWGemxeuxl">pic.twitter.com/gWGemxeuxl</a>
—@levarburtonBurton was the host of Reading Rainbow for over two decades. The television series, which premiered in 1983, introduced its young audience to reading, teaching literacy skills and sharing book recommendations with them.
He stated on Twitter that, in order to avoid legal complications, he was searching through volumes of short stories in the public domain to find family-friendly content, but not having much luck.
In response, HarperCollins and English author Neil Gaiman both granted Burton permission to the stories in their collections.
You have my blanket permission for any of my stories Levar.
—@neilhimselfThe series begins on Friday, April 3 at 9 p.m. ET.
The first livestream will feature Burton reading a selection by Gaiman.
