APPLICATION DEADLINE: FEBRUARY 3, 2009
PROGRAMMING DATES: SEPTEMBER 2009—JUNE 2010
APPROXIMATELY 400 ORGANIZATIONS
FROM COMMUNITIES OF VARYING SIZES ACROSS THE COUNTRY WILL BE SELECTED
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The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services designed to revitalize the role of literature in American culture and bring the transformative power of literature into the lives of its citizens. Created by the National Endowment for the Arts in cooperation with Arts Midwest, The Big Read brings together partners across the country to encourage citizens to read for pleasure and enlightenment.
Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America, a report issued in July 2004 by the National Endowment for the Arts, identified critical issues facing literary reading. In 2007, a follow-up study, To Read or Not To Read, was published by the NEA. It is the most complete and up-to-date report on the nation’s reading trends and—perhaps most important—their considerable consequences. The Big Read aims to address these issues and their consequences squarely and effectively. It provides citizens with the opportunity to read and discuss a single book or the work of a poet within their communities. To support innovative reading programs in selected cities and towns, the initiative provides grants, comprehensive resources, and support for discussing literature.
In 2007, the National Endowment for the Arts—in partnership with the Poetry Foundation—created a new component of The Big Read called American Literary Landmarks that celebrated three of the nation’s historic poetry sites: the Emily Dickinson Museum, Robinson Jeffers’s Tor House, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s Wayside Inn. The Big Read programming in 2009–2010 expands reading choices beyond books to include these three poets and their works.
The purpose of The Big Read is to encourage literary reading. The following outlines the expectations and requirements for Big Read organizations.
Organizations selected to participate in The Big Read will receive a grant, financial support to attend an orientation meeting, educational and promotional materials for broad distribution, an Organizer’s Guide for developing and managing Big Read activities, inclusion of the organization and its activities on The Big Read Web site, and the prestige of participating in a highly visible national initiative. All organizations selected to participate will have the distinction of using the brand The Big Read.
Grant size
Applicants may apply for grants ranging from $2,500 to $20,000. Generally, grant size will be determined based on:
Grants must be matched at least 1 to 1 with nonfederal funds. Grant funds may be used for such expenses as book purchases, speaker fees and travel, salaries, advertising, and venue rental. Please see the program budget instructions for more information.
Reading choices
Book titles
Applicant organizations selecting a book must choose one of the following 27 titles for their programming prior to applying to The Big Read:
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) Short stories to consider are “The Black Cat,” “Ms. Found in a Bottle,” “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” “The Gold-Bug,” “The Cask of Amontillado,” “Ligeia,” “The Fall of the House of Usher,” “The Pit and the Pendulum,” “The Masque of the Red Death,” “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “William Wilson,” “The Purloined Letter,” or essays, “The Philosophy of Composition” and “The Rationale of Verse.” Many of the suggested poems, short stories, and essays appear in Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe (Hardcover) (Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1966). The Poetry of Emily Dickinson (1830–1866) The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson, edited by Thomas H. Johnson (Boston: Back Bay Books, 1961), contains all of the suggested poems. The Poetry of Robinson Jeffers (1887–1962) The Wild God of the World: An Anthology of Robinson Jeffers, edited by Albert Gelpi (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2003), contains many of the suggested poems. The Poetry of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882) Many of the suggested poems are found in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Selected Poems with an introduction by Lawrence Buell (New York: Penguin, 1988), or Evangeline and Selected Tales and Poems with an introduction by Horace Gregory (New York: Signet, 2005). |
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
My Ántonia by Willa Cather
Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
Sun, Stone, and Shadows: 20 Great Mexican Short Stories edited by Jorge F. Hernández
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Washington Square by Henry James
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
The Thief and the Dogs by Naguib Mahfouz
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
The Shawl by Cynthia Ozick
The Stories and Poetry of Edgar Allan Poe
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
The Bridge of San Luis Rey and Our Town by Thornton Wilder*
Old School by Tobias Wolff
* Community organizations selecting Thornton Wilder’s The Bridge of San Luis Rey must include in their Big Read program plans a live, full-length production of Our Town performed by a local school drama department, community theater, or professional theater company. The Big Read educational materials address both the novel and the play.
Poets
Applicant organizations selecting a poet must choose one of the following three poets for their programming prior to applying to The Big Read:
Emily Dickinson
Robinson Jeffers**
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Events should celebrate both the work and life of the chosen poet. Specific poems featured may be determined by the applicant organization. While no single collection of the poet’s work is required, suggested anthologies are identified in the shaded box. All poems listed are discussed in The Big Read educational materials.
** Community organizations selecting Robinson Jeffers must include in their Big Read program plans at least one event featuring Jeffers’s adaptation of Euripides’s Medea (1947). The event could be a full performance of Medea, reading of excerpts by high school drama students, or a modified performance by a local readers’ theater.
Educational and promotional materials
One of the major benefits of The Big Read for community organizations is the availability of high-quality educational and promotional materials provided in large quantities at no cost to participating community organizations. The broad use and wide distribution of the educational and promotional materials throughout the community is essential and a key component of The Big Read.
The following educational and promotional materials are provided:
Consortium applications
A consortium may apply to The Big Read. A consortium is two or more organizations representing distinct communities located in a geographically contiguous area that propose to read the same book at the same time, and share marketing, programming, and/or other resources. Consortium applicants each must complete a Big Read application and should identify it as part of a consortium. Applications will be reviewed separately and as part of the consortium. Applying as part of a consortium does not guarantee funding to all consortium applicants; therefore, close collaboration is necessary to create strong applications. Consortium applicants must contact Christine Taylor at Arts Midwest (612.238.8021) prior to applying to discuss their application.
Programming should strive to involve the entire community, especially lapsed and/or reluctant readers, to counter the downward trend facing literary reading. While The Big Read welcomes frequent readers as participants, applicant organizations should pay significant attention to reaching deep into their communities to engage individuals for whom literary reading is not a regular activity. The NEA study Reading at Risk indicates that only slightly more than one-third of American men now read literature. It is therefore especially important to engage teenage boys in your Big Read programming.
Community organizations participating in The Big Read shall develop and produce a well-planned, well-attended, community-wide read with innovative, diverse programming, and widespread community involvement and participation. The ideal Big Read program lasts approximately one month and must occur between September 2009 and June 2010. A successful Big Read will a) reach lapsed and/or reluctant readers, b) have a wide range of imaginative activities, and c) occur in a variety of locations. Successful applicants’ programming will occur in various venues beyond libraries to encourage participation by diverse audiences and reluctant readers.
Event plans
Activities should include:
The number of activities planned should correlate with your community population.
Organizations are responsible for seeking legal permissions for certain activities and promotional materials.
Community partnerships
Successful programs involve a variety of partnerships with diverse community organizations to broaden audience outreach and deepen participation, especially reaching lapsed and/or reluctant readers.
Applicant organizations must partner with a library (if the applicant itself is not a library). Other collaborating organizations might include bookstores, museums, arts organizations, military installations, local businesses, chambers of commerce, community service organizations, community centers, youth groups, senior centers, correctional institutions, neighborhood associations, community colleges, universities, and social service organizations.
Middle and high school partnerships
Literary reading is fading as a meaningful activity for younger people. The NEA study Reading at Risk indicates that only slightly more than one-third of American men now read literature. It is therefore especially important to engage teenage boys in Big Read programming. Involvement of middle and high schools is essential to meeting the goals of The Big Read.
Participating community organizations should partner with local middle and high schools. Partner schools should be capable of integrating The Big Read materials in classrooms and/or involving students in school-based Big Read activities. Community organizations should develop program plans with school leaders, such as teachers, school librarians, English department chairs, principals, superintendents, or curriculum specialists.
K–12 schools and school districts, whether public or private, may not be the lead applicant but are encouraged to partner with libraries, literary centers, museums, and other eligible applicants.
Media, public relations, and promotion partnerships
In order to ensure a large audience and strong participation in Big Read activities, local media must be involved to promote The Big Read successfully and widely. Participating community organizations should actively generate media attention through partnerships with local TV, radio, and print media and through other promotion and public relations efforts.
Public officials
The awareness of, and meaningful participation in, The Big Read by elected public officials will benefit your programming and the future of The Big Read. Participating community organizations should actively involve local, state, or federal public officials (e.g., mayors, city council members, state legislators, Members of Congress).
Additional grant requirements
All Big Read organizations must:
Applicant organizations must:
1. Be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization; a division of state, local, or tribal government; or a tax-exempt public library. Eligible applicants include such organizations as literary centers, libraries, museums, colleges and universities, art centers, historical societies, arts councils, tribal governments, humanities councils, literary festivals, and arts organizations.
2. Partner with a library (if the applicant organization itself is not a library).
3. Select one of the 27 available book titles or one of the three available poets.
Note: K–12 schools and school districts, whether public or private, may not be the lead applicant but are encouraged to partner with libraries, literary centers, museums, and other eligible applicants.
Approximately 400 organizations from across the country will be selected by a panel of experts to participate in The Big Read. Selections and grant awards will be based on the artistic excellence and merit of the program. Specifically, applications will be evaluated based on outlined programming plans including:
1. Number and types of diverse and imaginative events and their potential to reach lapsed and/or reluctant readers.
2. Partnerships with community organizations, such as libraries, bookstores, museums, arts organizations, military installations, local businesses, chambers of commerce, community service organizations, community centers, youth groups, senior centers, correctional institutions, neighborhood associations, community colleges, universities, and social service organizations.
3. Engagements with middle and high schools, school libraries, or school districts in integrating Big Read program activities and materials.
4. Active involvement of specific media outlets to promote events aggressively using TV, radio, print media, and other promotional and public relations efforts.
5. Active involvement of local, state, or federal public officials.
6. Capacity to manage The Big Read program, provide the required financial match, and effectively use grant funds.
| Application deadline | February 3, 2009 |
| Notification of selected communities | mid April, 2009 |
| Orientation meeting, Minneapolis | June 16-17, 2009 |
| Program activity (approximately one month) | September 2009 - June 2010 |
Application requirements submitted through eGRANT (Note: these application requirements have changed from previous application deadlines. Please read thoroughly.)
1. Two-page application narrative: Describe your program plans, including the number, locations, and types of activities. Describe your intended audience for these events, how your organization will engage audiences that are diverse within the context of your community, how you will reach lapsed and/or reluctant literary readers, and how you plan to distribute books in your community. Name the partner library (if applicant itself is not a library). Explain how you plan to staff this program. Explain how you will actively involve local, state, or federal public officials. Notes: Consortia applicants should also describe their consortium and how resources will be shared. Repeat grantees should focus on proposed September 2009–June 2010 programming.
2. One-page organizational description: Describe your mission, principal activities, and the make-up of the community you serve. Describe any past programming that demonstrates your ability to develop and manage a successful Big Read program.
3. One-page (total) biographical descriptions of the principal project leaders.
4. List of proposed community partners with whom you plan to collaborate.
5. List of proposed school partners (middle and high schools, school libraries, school districts, community colleges, or universities in your area).
6. List of media partners (TV, radio, or print) and promotion plans. Indicate which partners and plans are confirmed.
7. One-page organizational budget.
8. Two-page program budget.
9. Certification page.
Additional materials
1) Proof of your organization’s FEDERAL tax-exempt status, consisting of either:
a) Copy of your organization’s federal tax-exempt ruling under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code; or
b) Documentation indicating that your organization is a division of state, local, or tribal government. State sales tax-exemption certificates and copies of ordinances or bylaws are not qualified documents. For assistance in identifying the correct documentation, please call Arts Midwest or check with your finance department.
2. Signed certification page downloaded from eGRANT.
3. A one-page letter of support from your library partner, if the applicant is not a library.
All eGRANT applications must be submitted electronically to Arts Midwest on or before 4:00 p.m. CST on February 3, 2009.
Additional materials, as listed above, must be received in the mail by Arts Midwest on or before 4:00 p.m. CST on February 3, 2009. This is not a postmark deadline. The additional materials may not be e-mailed or faxed.
Please send your additional materials to:
Arts Midwest
2908 Hennepin Avenue, Suite 200
Minneapolis, MN 55408
612.238.8010
Please call Arts Midwest at 612.238.8010 or e-mail TheBigRead@artsmidwest.org.
