Write Out Loud Receives $20,000 NEA Big Read Grant

Write Out Loud has received a grant of $20,000 to host the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read in San Diego. Write Out Loud is one of 62 nonprofit organizations in the US selected to receive an NEA Big Read grant to support a community reading program.

Focusing on the novel CIRCE by Madeleine Miller, this program will impact 3,000+ San Diegans. An initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest, the NEA Big Read broadens our understanding of our world, our communities, and ourselves through the power of a shared reading experience. Activities with San Diego students will begin in the fall and community wide events will take place through the month of April 2024, including a  student awards presentation of THE NEA BIG READ - Read Imagine Create.

This awards presentation will feature student projects inspired by CIRCE  by Madeleine Miller and Edith Hamilton's MYTHOLOGY - the middle school selection. Additional NEA Big Read activities that will take place across San Diego  include book discussions, writing contests,  presentations of Myths and Legends, discussions about the power of women and visual art displays. www.writeoutloudsd.com

Write Out Loud Artistic Director, Veronica Murphy shared “We chose CIRCE by Madeline Miller to inspire San Diegans of all ages to learn about a lesser known mythological character through Miller's retelling of CIRCE. Myths are often thought of as outdated. However, Miller's exciting updated retelling of Circe is most relevant in this time of women's rights and their place in society being challenged in our culture. The NEA Big Read grant also allows us to put books into the hands of young people and then challenge them to create something inspired by the story.”