A packed house listens as author Mary Roach speaks at an NEA Big Read event organized by the Lewis and Clark Library in Helena, Montana, 2025.
A packed house listens as author Mary Roach speaks at an NEA Big Read event organized by the Lewis and Clark Library in Helena, Montana, 2025.
Book selections and programming celebrate America’s 250th across 47 states and Puerto Rico.
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), in partnership with Arts Midwest, is pleased to announce grants to 71 nonprofit organizations for NEA Big Read programming in 2026-2027.
In total, the Arts Endowment is investing $1,089,030 to support programming centered around a book from the NEA Big Read Library, which this year honors 250 years of the American story by celebrating the country’s culture, history, and resilience through the eyes of its citizens.
The 21 NEA Big Read books being programmed this cycle celebrate America’s culture, history, and resilience through the eyes of its people.
“As we approach the 250th anniversary of the United States, this year’s NEA Big Read offer communities the opportunity to come together and reflect on the richness and resilience of the American experience,” said Mary Anne Carter, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. “These grantees are not only encouraging community members to pick up a great book, they are also actively engaging them with the past while inviting them to create connections for the future.”
Each NEA Big Read grantee will receive a matching grant ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 through Arts Midwest to support their project.
The goal of the NEA Big Read is to inspire meaningful conversations, celebrating local creativity, elevating a wide variety of voices and perspectives, and building stronger connections in each community.
Grantees chose their NEA Big Read book based on how its themes, characters, and setting relate to the unique aspects of their community. They will use this selection as inspiration for book discussions, writing workshops, and creative activities in collaboration with a range of local partners.
About the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read
The National Endowment for the Arts Big Read, a partnership with Arts Midwest, broadens our understanding of our world, our communities, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book.
Since 2006, the National Endowment for the Arts has funded more than 1,800 NEA Big Read programs, providing more than $25 million to organizations nationwide. In addition, NEA Big Read activities have reached every Congressional district in the country.
Over more than 15 years, grantees have leveraged more than $57 million in local funding to support their NEA Big Read programs. More than 6 million Americans have attended an NEA Big Read event, over 100,000 volunteers have participated at the local level, and over 40,000 community organizations have partnered to make NEA Big Read activities possible.
48
Number of states (plus Puerto Rico) that are hosting NEA Big Read activities this year.
80%
Percentage of recipients that are receiving their first NEA Big Read grant this year.
“In this year’s NEA Big Read, grantees from across the nation are bringing their communities together through reading, discussion, and creative activities that dig into stories from American history, classic American literature, and contemporary American novels, reminding us all that American stories are still being written, and that every reader has a part in that telling.”
Torrie Allen, President + CEO of Arts Midwest
Alison Pelegrin and Khadija Queen facilitate a public workshop at Algiers Regional Library, New Orleans, LA as part of the One Book One New Orleans NEA Big Read.
Examples of 2026-2027 Programming
From three first-time NEA Big Read grantees.
River Raisin Ragtime Revue (Tecumseh, MI) will bring history to life during programming for Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom by Catherine Clinton. A feature event, “An Evening with Harriet Tubman” will spotlight Tubman impersonator and historian Kathryn Harris, who has portrayed the abolitionist for more than three decades.
The Bismarck State College Foundation (Bismarck, ND) will showcase Native voices in American heritage through programming inspired by poet Joy Harjo’s An American Sunrise. The college will display Native American artifacts and contemporary art in one of its on-campus galleries, providing tangible connections to the region’s history and Native artistry that continues today.
As they program Edgar Allan Poe’s Great Tales and Poems, the Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia (Charlottesville, VA) will highlight UVA’s Poe holdings alongside a rare printing of the Declaration of Independence to underscore how American literature and identity are intertwined.
Photo Credit: Mora-Metts Photography
Explore all grantees in Arts Midwest’s searchable grantee database.
Organizations interested in applying for an NEA Big Read grant in the future should visit Arts Midwest’s website for more information; guidelines will be released in the fall.
