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News from the NEA
The Big Read
A program designed to revitalize reading in American culture now has grant money available to communities who want to participate in 2007.
Sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Arts Midwest, the Big Read works with multiple partners across the country to encourage citizens to read for pleasure and enlightenment. For 2007, communities participating in the Big Read will be able to choose from eight modern American classics: Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury); My Antonia (Willa Cather); The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald); A Farewell to Arms (Ernest Hemingway); Their Eyes Were Watching God (Zora Neale Hurston); To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee); The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck); and The Joy Luck Club (Amy Tan).
The Big Read answers a big need. Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America, a 2004 report by the NEA, found that not only is literary reading in America declining rapidly among all groups, but that the rate of decline has accelerated, especially among the young. The Big Read aims to address this crisis by providing citizens the opportunity to read and discuss a single book within their communities.
The NEA will award grants generally ranging from $10,000-$20,000 to more than 100 communities to conduct month-long community-based programs that encourage citizens to read. Each selected city is required to produce a comprehensive community-wide Big Read that involves collaborations with libraries, schools, local government and the private sector. Each community will develop a program of activities related to its chosen novel, such as a keynote session, special events and book discussions aimed at a diverse range of audiences.
For more information or to find out how your organization can apply for
a grant, visit www.neabigread.org.
