Fiscal Year: 2024

SPACE and Mechanic's Hall will host interdisciplinary programming, reading groups, and workshops around Ilya Kaminsky's book of poems Deaf Republic, in conjunction with a variety of community partners. This series will explore themes of community loss, accessibility, silence as resistance, love in the face of violence and war, and artists exploring deafness and tinnitus.

After the positive response and public reception of our 2022 and 2023 NEA Big Read: Lawton events, we are excited to unite the community again through the reading of one book and through the hosting of multiple book discussions, as well as other activities and events inspired by the theme of where we live as depicted by The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir by Thi Bui.

The Chattahoochee Valley Libraries join forces with other organizations and our community to celebrate and examine WHERE WE LIVE as this year’s NEA BIG READ celebration. Using Atlanta author Tayari Jones’ celebrated "Silver Sparrow" as our guide, we’ll examine how our time, place, and people have inspired – and can inspire –creative and historical endeavors both great and small.

The Evanston Public Library will celebrate “A Year of Joy and Gratitude” by exploring the themes in Ross Gay’s Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude. In addition to poetry workshops and reading, EPL will curate unique programs, such as gardening, birding, and fabric arts, that encourage active engagement in this poetry and builds greater connections to where we live, our land and nature, and ourselves.

The Bristol Public Library, Washington County Public Library, and Birthplace of Country Music Museum have come together to host community events focused on Ron Rash's Burning Bright. Through these programs, we will foster community connections, expand minds, and provide space for transformative dialogue on the theme of “Where We Live.”

RCCA brings together campus and public audiences for engagement with The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, a novel that resonates with the RCCA community and mission. Activities for English and Spanish-speaking readers includes discussions, lectures, interactive art installation, writing workshops, teaching artist residencies in schools and centers, storytelling with young companion books.

Through The Great Gatsby, we will explore the concept of the American Dream and how the influences of the 1920’s—including jazz music—still impact our lives today. In today’s world of ever-growing economic disparity, the book will allow us to reflect how wealth and the pursuit of happiness are interpreted in our Vermont community, which includes multi-generational families and new residents.

Eastern Connecticut State University will partner with public libraries, local schools, and regional environmental nonprofits to engage families, school-aged and university students. Innovative programming will connect regional community members with the arts, humanities, and environmental science themes offered by The Bear by Andrew Krivak. Program Dates: September 1, 2024 - May 1, 2025

The Lorain Public Library System will partner with the Lorain Historical Society, Oberlin Public Library, Oberlin Heritage Center, Community Foundation of Lorain County, local schools, civic organizations, and businesses to offer diverse programming for audiences of all ages inspired by "Beloved" by Toni Morrison from Tuesday, September 3, 2024, through Monday, June 30, 2025.

NEA Big Read in Ottawa County will revolve around John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath.” Through book discussions, tribal renditions of the era, and play performance, community members will have an opportunity to learn about Oklahoma during the depression.