The Big Read is accepting applications from non-profit organizations to develop community-wide reading programs between September 2013 and June 2014. The Big Read is a national program designed to revitalize the role of literature in American culture and to encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment. Organizations selected to participate in The Big Read receive a grant, educational and promotional materials, and access to online training resources and opportunities. Approximately 75 organizations from across the country will be selected.
To review the guidelines and application instructions, visit
The Big Read website.
Application deadline: February 5, 2013 by 4:00pm CST
We are proud to announce the addition of three new titles to The Big Read Library this year:
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
With penetrating insight, Jhumpa Lahiri follows the Ganguli family from their traditional life in Calcutta through their fraught transformation into Americans.
True Grit by Charles Portis
A classic Western,
True Grit recounts the backcountry adventure of a one-eyed marshal, “Rooster” Cogburn, and a spirited fourteen-year-old, Mattie Ross, as they seek to avenge the death of Mattie’s father.
Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea
Filled with radiant depictions of the Mexican landscape and unforgettable characters, Luis Alberto Urrea’s novel chronicles a young woman’s quest to protect her hometown from banditos.
Please join us on November 13, 2012 at 4:30pm EST for a book discussion about the new additions to The Big Read Library with National Endowment for the Arts Literature Director, Ira Silverberg. For more details visit the NEA’s website.
We hope you’ll participate—it’s sure to be a lively conversation! 
