The Literary Arts Emergency Fund Awards More Than $3.5 Million to 282 Literary Arts Organizations, Magazines, and Presses

The Literary Arts Emergency Fund, launched and administered by the Academy of American Poets, the Community of Literary Magazine & Presses (CLMP), and the National Book Foundation, will be distributing $3,530,000 million in emergency funding to 282 nonprofit literary arts organizations, magazines, and presses across the nation that have experienced severe financial losses due to COVID-19. The organizations and presses to receive support reported $27,635,559 in financial losses to date and are projecting $48,137,391 in financial losses in the year ahead.

Leaders of the three organizations-Jennifer Benka, Mary Gannon, and Lisa Lucas-united to raise funds and establish the Literary Arts Emergency Fund in response to the lack of institutional support for the nonprofit organizations and presses that sustain literary culture in the U.S. by presenting poets and writers at events and by publishing and distributing thousands of poems, stories, and essays in books, magazines, and through open online archives. They also employ writers as teaching artists who bring literature into classrooms; offer workshops, festivals, and conferences; support the creative practice of poets and writers by providing millions of dollars in grants and fellowships; and honor the achievements of poets and writers, giving their work visibility. Together, these organizations reach more than 75 million readers each year.

The Literary Arts Emergency Fund was made possible by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and applications were open to eligible organizations, magazines, and presses from July 17 to August 7, 2020.

The administering organizations convened three separate grantmaking panels to make recommendations for the final award decisions. The panelists were:

At the Academy of American Poets: Richard Blanco, Ruth Ellen Kocher, and Deborah Paredez

At CLMP: Harold Augenbraum, Nate Marshall, and Elda Rotor
At the National Book Foundation: Ken Chen, Andre Perry, and Keren Taylor

The literary arts organizations, magazines, and presses receiving emergency funding are:

Arte Publico Press ($50,000)

Bookmarks ($50,000)

Cave Canem Foundation, Inc ($50,000)

Center for the Art of Translation ($50,000)

Coffee House Press ($50,000)

Copper Canyon Press ($50,000)

Feminist Press ($50,000)

Lambda Literary Foundation ($50,000)

Small Press Distribution ($50,000)

The Loft Literary Center ($50,000)

The Center for Fiction ($50,000)

Urban Word NYC ($50,000)

Writers in the Schools ($50,000)

Youth Speaks ($50,000)

Alice James Books ($25,000)

Archipelago Books ($25,000)

Asian American Writers' Workshop ($25,000)

Bellevue Literary Press ($25,000)

Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center ($25,000)

Brooklyn Book Festival, Inc. ($25,000)

CantoMundo ($25,000)

City of Asylum Pittsburgh ($25,000)

Gemini Ink ($25,000)

Graywolf Press ($25,000)

Herstory Writers Workshop Inc. ($25,000)

Just Buffalo Literary Center, Inc. ($25,000)

Kundiman, Inc. ($25,000)

Letras Latinas ($25,000)

Literary Arts, the literary initiative at the University of Notre Dame's Institute for Latino Studies ($25,000)

McSweeney's Publishing ($25,000)

Mizna ($25,000)

Northwestern University Press ($25,000)

Nuyorican Poets Cafe Inc. ($25,000)

Open Letter Books ($25,000)

Poets & Writers, Inc. ($25,000)

Red Hen Press ($25,000)

Center for Black Literature ($25,000)

Restless Books ($25,000)

Split This Rock ($25,000)

The Muse Writers Center ($25,000)

The PEN/Faulkner Foundation ($25,000)

Wesleyan University Press ($25,000)

Woodland Pattern Book Center ($25,000)