Chattanooga, TN (June 14, 2016) --- Chattanooga State Community College’s award-winning Writers@Work program is the recipient of a $15,000 grant to host the NEA Big Read in Chattanooga, TN. A program of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the Big Read broadens our understanding of our world, our communities, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book. Chattanooga State is one of 77 nonprofit organizations to receive a grant in support of an NEA Big Read project between September 2016 and June 2017. The NEA Big Read in Chattanooga will focus on Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones. Activities will take place beginning in January 2017 with the author visit slated for April 10-14. Chattanooga State’s cultural partners in this endeavor include UNUM, the Hunter Museum of American Art, the Chattanooga Public Library, and the Southern Lit Alliance. The Writers@Work program will also receive grant funding from the Tennessee Arts Commission for the second year in a row.

"The Chattanooga State Humanities Department is extremely excited for the opportunity that the NEA's Big Read offers. This grant will allow us to expand the reach of our annual Writers@Work program and to impact Chattanooga in a powerful and positive way. We can't wait to introduce Tayari Jones and her novel, Silver Sparrow, to the greater Chattanooga community,” states Dr. Joel Henderson, Chattanooga State Humanities Department Chair.

Over the last five years, the Chattanooga State Humanities Department’s Writers@Work (W@W) program has established itself as a major proponent of Southern literature and literary studies.  Primarily designed to enhance the Department’s English curriculum, W@W has a secondary aim of providing students and community members with an opportunity to explore what it means to be Southern through a weeklong series of free public events. “Both school and city should be proud of such a program,” states 2016’s visiting W@W author Ron Rash, author of Serena.  

Rick Bragg (All Over But the Shoutin’) had this to say after his visit in 2015: “They work you like a rented mule, dawn till midnight (or so it seemed), in an effort to bring that love of writing to as many people, young and old, as possible. The people there are passionate about the reading and writing life and bring in only people who share that passion. All this goes on in the shadow of mountains, the mist-covered mountains my people made whiskey on, so I am a little biased, here. But even if I was a stranger to this place, I would still call it one of the finest programs of its kind.”

Managed by Arts Midwest, the NEA Big Read offers grants to support innovative community reading programs designed around a single book. The program supports organizations across the country in developing community-wide reading programs, which encourage reading and participation by diverse audiences. Organizations selected to participate in the NEA Big Read receive a grant, access to online training resources and opportunities, and educational and promotional materials designed to support widespread community involvement.

For more information about the NEA Big Read, please visit neabigread.org. For more information about the Chattanooga State Humanities Department’s Writers@Work program, please visit www.facebook.com/CSWritersatWork.

Founded in 1965, Chattanooga State is a public community college serving more than 10,000 students from Chattanooga and Hamilton, Rhea, Sequatchie, Marion, Bledsoe and Grundy counties as well as bordering counties of north Georgia and Alabama. For more information about Chattanooga State, visit www.chattanoogastate.edu.

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. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the National Endowment for the Arts and the agency is celebrating this milestone with events and activities through September 2016. Go to arts.gov/50th to enjoy art stories from around the nation, peruse Facts & Figures, and check out the anniversary timeline. 

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.