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Roth, 81, who has written more than 30 books and won numerous
awards, spoke to the BBC for a two-part documentary shot in his
hometown of Newark, New Jersey, that will be broadcast on
Tuesday and the following week.
"This is my last appearance on television, absolutely my last
appearance on stage anywhere," he tells presenter Alan Yentob,
according to a preview released on Monday.
Roth made his announcement 18 months after he told a French
magazine that his 31st book, "Nemesis", about a fictional polio
epidemic in 1944 that was published in 2010, would be his last.
Asked by Yentob about a statement in 2004 that he could not live
without writing, Roth replied: "I was wrong. I had reached the
end. There was nothing more for me to write about.
"I set out upon the great task of doing nothing. I've had a very
good time over the last three or four years."
Roth is one of America's most lauded writers, with his novels
exploring modern Jewish-American life. He won a Pulitzer Prize
for his 1997 novel "American Pastoral".
Best known for his semi-autobiographical and unreliable
alter-ego Nathan Zuckerman, he first received critical attention
aged 28 after winning the U.S. National Book Award for Fiction
for his 1959 novella "Goodbye, Columbus".
In his final interview, Roth discusses the impact of his most
significant works, the BBC said in a statement.
"Philip Roth ... has arguably had more to say about modern
America than any other contemporary author," the BBC said.
(Reporting by Jack Stubbs, Editing by Belinda Goldsmith and
Angus MacSwan)
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