XM radio to air book readings

The National Endowment for the Arts will partner with XM Radio to bring literature to satellite radio with the launch of “The Big Read on XM,” a series airing audio versions of classic novels in 30-minute installments.

The series, based on the federal arts agency’s national reading program of the same name, premieres Sept. 10 on Sonic Theater (XM Channel 163), the channel devoted to audio books and contemporary theater. The series’ first installment will feature Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451,” followed by programs on Zora Neale Hurston’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” Willa Cather’s “My Antonia” and Carson McCullen’s “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter.”

The programs, with each new installment broadcast three times a day Monday through Friday, will also include readings, interviews and commentary by authors, actors and other public figures. Participants include Bradbury and writer Alice Walker, former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, and actors Robert Duvall and Cheech Marin.