Apply for a Big Read grant today!

Application submission deadline: February 1, 2012

The Big Read is accepting applications from non-profit organizations to develop community-wide reading programs between September 2012 and June 2013. The Big Read is a national program designed to revitalize the role of literature in American culture and to encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment. Organizations selected to participate in The Big Read receive a grant, access to online training resources and opportunities, and educational and promotional materials designed to support widespread community involvement and participation. Approximately 75 organizations from across the country will be selected.

Questions? Call Arts Midwest at 612.238.8010 or email TheBigRead@artsmidwest.org.

S.C. Native, Nikki Finney, Wins National Book Award for Poetry

Poet Nikki Finney, a South Carolina native and daughter of a legal pioneer, has won the National Book Award for poetry. The winners were announced Wednesday evening.

Finney, 52, is a professor of English at the University of Kentucky but returns home frequently to South Carolina. Before this year’s S.C. Book Festival, she talked about one of her poems, created after witnessing defance by homeowners facing a hurriance in the Gulf of Mexico.

Read more at TheState.com.

SC Arts Commission Calls for First Novel Prize Submissions

The South Carolina Arts Commission, Hub City Press and their literary partners announce a call for submissions for the biennial South Carolina First Novel Prize. The application deadline is March 19, 2012; a winner will be announced in October.  The competition judge is Josephine Humphreys, a Charleston novelist whose latest book is Nowhere Else on Earth.

The winning author will receive a book contract with the Hub City Press, an award-winning independent press in Spartanburg, S.C. The winner will also receive a $500 advance against royalties, and Hub City will publish at least 1,500 paperback copies of the book.

Matt Matthews of Greer was the winner of the most recent First Novel Competition and his book, Mercy Creek, was published in 2011. The book sold out two hardback editions and will be released in December in paperback and e-book format.  Publishers Weekly called the book “an enticing full-blown whodunnit … a first-rate effort displaying skill, sensitivity, and grace.”

“Working with Hub City Press has been exhilarating,” Matthews said. “I really appreciate the relationships that I have begun with libraries around the state and the S.C. Arts Commission, which does such a great job supporting the arts statewide.”

Brian Ray of Columbia was the winner of the inaugural competition. His book, Through the Pale Door, was published in June 2009 and was widely and favorably reviewed across the Southeast. Booklist gave it a starred review and called Ray “a talent to watch.”

Partnering again with the SC Arts Commission and Hub City Press for this competition are The Humanities CouncilSC and the South Carolina State Library.

For information about First Novel Competition eligibility requirements and application guidelines, visit www.SouthCarolinaArts.com/firstnovel or call (803) 734-8696.