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Download the newest Big Read poster from Island Readers & Writers!
Join the fun – be part of The Big Read in Maine!
MOUNT DESERT, Maine — It’s Mark Twain’s birthday – he would have been 176 on Nov. 30 – but you get the gifts!
Get a free copy of Mark Twain’s classic “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” plus free admission to scores of fun activities including movies, musical performances, theater, community discussions, classes, and even logrolling sessions as part of The Big Read.
The fun officially starts Jan. 12, but it’s time to start planning now. The Big Read aims to bring together people in communities on seven islands in Hancock County and we want you to be among them.
We want at least 1,500 folks to join in and read “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and participate in the great variety of activities that are planned as part of The Big Read, an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest; it’s designed to reinvigorate reading as part of shared American culture.
Island Readers & Writers, a nonprofit group based on Mount Desert Island, received the only Big Read grant given in Maine, which was one of only five in the whole of New England.
Visit the Island Readers & Writers website at www.islandreadersandwriters.org to learn more.
Mark Twain himself once described a literary classic as “a book which people praise but don’t read.” We plan to prove him wrong. Join us and help write a happy ending for The Big Read in Maine.
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Aug. 10, 2011
MDI group gets ‘Big Read’ grant
MOUNT DESERT, Maine — There’s big news for the Big Read.
Get ready and get set, because the program is a go once again in coastal Maine thanks to a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and Island Readers & Writers (IRW).
IRW, a nonprofit organization based on Mount Desert Island, will receive a $9,000 grant from the NEA this year to host a Big Read project. The Big Read is an initiative of the NEA designed to restore reading to the center of American culture.
Grant recipients will recruit community members to read a book – in IRW’s case, “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” by Mark Twain – and will plan a series of free events in 2011 and 2012 connected to it.
IRW received the only Big Read grant given in Maine, which was one of only five in New England. Seventy-six grants were awarded in all.
“We’re thrilled,” said Jan Coates, executive director and founder of IRW. “These are competitive grants, and for IRW and its library partners to be recognized in this way is a great testament to the contributions of so many.”
In 2010, IRW’s Big Read program centered around Jack London’s “The Call of the Wild” drew 1,236 readers for a month of programs in coastal Maine that involved 11 libraries, 17 nonprofit organizations, two school districts and 100 miles of coastline.
“The key to the success of the 2010 Big Read was the tremendous support of our island communities,” Ms. Coates said. “We look forward to working with even more nonprofit organizations and individuals to make this a great experience for all.”
The NEA inaugurated The Big Read as a pilot project in 2006 with 10 communities. By June 2010, more than 951 Big Read grants had been awarded, involving nearly three million readers, 39,000 community volunteers and 27,000 community partners.
The Big Read fits in with IRW’s Community Outreach program that seeks to build supportive and healthy reading communities that encourage kids to love reading by sharing with families and community members.
IRW also works with kids in their schools and their community libraries to
inspire a passion for reading and learning, often including visits by award-winning, nationally known authors.
The folks at IRW are busily planning activities for this year’s big read.
For more information, contact:
Jan Coates at IRW, 207-288-2211, jcoates@islandreadersandwriters.org, www.islandreadersandwriters.or
Liz Stark at the NEA, 202-682-5744, starke@arts.gov, www.neabigread.org
Download the IRW logo (.pdf format)
