NEA Big Read Introduces New Books and Theme, “Our Nature”
Washington, DC—Applications are now open for NEA Big Read grants to support community-wide reading programs between September 2025 and June 2026 under the new theme, “Our Nature: How Our Physical Environment Can Lead Us to Seek Hope, Courage, and Connection.” An initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in partnership with Arts Midwest, the NEA Big Read supports a range of events and activities designed around a single NEA Big Read book. The goal of this program is to inspire meaningful conversations, celebrate local creativity, elevate a wide variety of voices and perspectives, encourage cross-sector collaboration, and build stronger connections in each community. Matching grants range from $5,000 to $20,000 each. The Intent to Apply deadline is January 23, 2025. Visit Arts Midwest’s website for complete grant guidelines and to apply.
New for 2025-2026: Community programming during this cycle will focus on the theme “Our Nature.” The 22 NEA Big Read books available for selection—14 new books and eight returning—explore our relationship with the physical environment, from our cities and farms to our mountains and coastlines. Applicants will host book discussions, writing workshops, and other creative activities that examine how we shape our physical environment and how it shapes us.
“The new theme, ‘Our Nature,’ takes us in so many fascinating directions worth exploring, and these 22 titles are perfect jumping-off places,” said Amy Stolls, the NEA’s literary arts director. “The authors reflect on what we endure, what nourishes us, what once was and what might be in prose and poetry that sings, surprises us, opens our hearts, and makes us laugh.”
The 2025-2026 NEA Big Read book selections showcase a wide range of genres, perspectives, and geographic regions. New additions:
- Bewilderment (novel) by Richard Powers
- Bite by Bite (memoir) by Aimee Nezhukumatathil
- Blackfish City (novel) by Sam J. Miller
- Fuzz (nonfiction) by Mary Roach
- I Cheerfully Refuse (novel) by Leif Enger
- In the Distance (novel) by Hernan Diaz
- In the Field Between Us (poetry) by Molly McCully Brown and Susannah Nevison
- Lone Women (novel) by Victor LaValle
- The New Wilderness (novel) by Diane Cook
- Nobody Gets Out Alive (short stories) by Leigh Newman
- North Woods (novel) by Daniel Mason
- The Quickening (nonfiction) by Elizabeth Rush
- The Seed Keeper (novel) by Diane Wilson
- You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World (poetry anthology) edited by Ada Limon
Returning books:
- An American Sunrise (poetry) by Joy Harjo
- The Bear (novel) by Andrew Krivak
- Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude (poetry) by Ross Gay
- The Grapes of Wrath (novel) by John Steinbeck
- The House on Mango Street (novel) by Sandra Cisneros
- Lab Girl (memoir) by Hope Jahren
- Their Eyes Were Watching God (novel) by Zora Neale Hurston
- When the Emperor Was Divine (novel) by Julie Otsuka
Descriptions of these books are available on the NEA website.
The NEA Big Read welcomes applications from a variety of eligible organizations, including first-time applicants; organizations serving communities of all sizes, including rural and urban areas; and organizations with small, medium, or large operating budgets. Applicant organizations will collaborate with a broad range of partners—including a community library if the applicant itself is not a library—to offer events and activities that engage the whole community. Read more about eligibility and how to apply in the guidelines on Arts Midwest’s website.
Applicant Resources:
- A webinar for potential applicants will take place on Thursday, November 14, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. ET. Register here.
- If you have additional questions, you can join Arts Midwest staff for office hours on November 19 and December 10—access the guidelines for more details and to register.
- Arts Midwest has created a series of resources for NEA Big Read grantees, including helpful tips on Best Practices for Federal Grant Applications and 5 Tips for Combining Nature and Your NEA Big Read Programming. View all the NEA Big Read resources here.
How to apply:
- Visit Arts Midwest’s website for complete guidelines and what information is required to apply.
- Register your organization in Arts Midwest’s SmartSimple grant portal.
- Intent to Apply deadline: January 23, 2025. Arts Midwest will confirm applicant eligibility and forward to the application stage.
- Full application deadline: January 30, 2025
About the National Endowment for the Arts
Established by Congress in 1965, the National Endowment for the Arts is an independent federal agency that is the largest funder of the arts and arts education in communities nationwide and a catalyst of public and private support for the arts. By advancing equitable opportunities for arts participation and practice, the NEA fosters and sustains an environment in which the arts benefit everyone in the United States. To learn more, visit arts.gov.
About Arts Midwest
Arts Midwest supports, informs, and celebrates Midwestern creativity. We build community and opportunity across Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin, the Native Nations that share this geography, and beyond. As one of six nonprofit United States Regional Arts Organizations, Arts Midwest works to strengthen local arts and culture efforts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, state agencies, private funders, and many others. Learn more at artsmidwest.org.
Contact
(media questions) Carolyn Coons, coonsc@arts.gov, 202-701-3977
(application questions) Arts Midwest, neabigread@artsmidwest.org, 612-238-8024
