The Big Read Wichita will return for an 11th year, featuring the book Station Eleven, a science fiction novel by Emily St. John Mandel. Wichita Library officials announced today that the Wichita Public Library Foundation has received a $15,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to support the one book reading program. The award is one of 79 made to communities across the United States and is the only one made to a Kansas community for the 2018-2019 program year. The grant funds book purchases and other costs related to the program such as author fees, venue rentals and marketing. Mayor Jeff Longwell and Congressional spouse Susan O. Estes will serve as honorary co-chairs for the program.
Station Eleven won the prestigious Arthur C. Clarke Award in 2015 and was a finalist for the National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award. Since its original publication in 2014, the book has been translated into 27 languages. The title will be the most frequently read work in this year's Big Read program with 17 of the 79 grants based on Mandel's novel.
The Big Read Wichita runs from Oct. 1 through Nov. 15. A kickoff party and a visit from the author are among program events in planning. Additional details will be announced during the summer. Readers are invited to join the conversation at the
Big Read's Facebook page and find events happening in and around Wichita at
www.bigreadwichita.org.
Over the past decade, dozens of area schools, libraries, cultural organizations, businesses and book clubs have joined together to celebrate literary reading through Big Read Wichita programs. Participants are encouraged to read the chosen book and to explore its themes through a variety of programs and special activities.
Wichita Public Library provides collections and services that inform, entertain and enrich the quality of life in Wichita. For more information, please visit
www.wichitalibrary.org.
Established by Congress in 1965, the
National Endowment for the Arts is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the NEA supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America's rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America. Visit
arts.gov to learn more about NEA.
Arts Midwest promotes creativity, nurtures cultural leadership, and engages people in meaningful arts experiences, bringing vitality to Midwest communities and enriching people's lives. Based in Minneapolis, Arts Midwest connects the arts to audiences throughout the nine-state region of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. One of six non-profit regional arts organizations in the United States, Arts Midwest's history spans more than 25 years. For more information, please visit
artsmidwest.org.
