Write Out Loud Receives $25K Grant From NEA For American Literary Heroes Project

Write Out Loud is the recipient of a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for Celebrating America250: Arts Projects Honoring the National Garden of American Heroes. A grant of $25,000 will support Write Out Loud's American Literary Heroes project. 

NEA Senior Advisor Mary Anne Carter said, “As our nation approaches its 250th anniversary, the National Endowment for the Arts is honored to support communities across the country in recognizing the individuals whose contributions have defined our history. Write Out Loud's project in San Diego plays a significant role in commemorating these heroes' legacies while affirming the enduring role of the arts in shaping America's future.” 

American Literary Heroes, presented by Write Out Loud from mid-March through September 2026, is a unique program highlighting four iconic American writers who have left a lasting impact on America, our people, and others across the globe. Re-enactors will bring these authors to life in libraries, schools, museums and other community venues across San Diego County, using selections of their works, their lives and their perspectives on America.

American Literary Heroes Features: 

Rhianna Basore as Emily Dickinson, whose innovative use of form and syntax made her a pioneer in modernist literature.

Steven Smith as Henry David Thoreau, philosopher, naturalist, abolitionist and promoter of human rights.

Paul Maley as Mark Twain, a prolific writer and humorist, who has been called “the father of American literature.”

Todd Blakesley as Walt Whitman, whose focus on the common man, and his break from poetic structures, caused him to be known as “the father of free verse.” 

Write Out Loud Artistic Director, Veronica Murphy shared “We are so grateful to the NEA for funding our American Literary Heroes program. Dickinson, Twain, Whitman and Thoreau each made an enormous impact on the American literary canon. Sharing these literary giants with people across our community is an opportunity we treasure .”