FARMINGTON – The National Endowment for the Arts awarded a $25,000 grant to Alice James Books for publication of six books of poetry next year.
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AJB, an affiliate of and located on the University of Maine at Farmington campus, is one of 1,057 not-for-profit organizations recommended for a grant as part of the federal agency’s first round of fiscal year 2011 grants. The NEA, an independent agency of the federal government, will distribute a total of $26.68 million to support projects nationwide.
“We are so pleased by the NEA’s generosity and recognition this year; it’s tremendous,” said Carey Salerno, AJB’s executive director. The announcement was made this week. The nonprofit, founded in 1973, was named for the talented writer Alice James, the sister of William and Henry James, whose work went unrecognized during her lifetime. At AJB’s start, the seven founders of the publishing cooperative wanted to give women better representation in the industry; today it encourages the work of all poets, according to its web site.
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As an affiliate of UMF, the book publisher sponsors creative writing major student interns each semester for a variety of work experiences in publishing. In addition, AJB and the UMF Humanities Department co-sponsor internships for two annual student-led Sandy River Review literary journals.
AJB publishes at least six books of poetry each year by both established and emerging poets. Books are chosen by the cooperative board via annual manuscript competitions. Many Alice James Books authors are nationally renowned, including Jane Kenyon, Donaled Revell, Jean Valentine, Fanny Howe, Brian Turner, and B.H. Fairchild.
Recent Alice James Books titles have been reviewed in The New York Times Sunday Book Review, The New Yorker, Bark, Slate, Boston Globe, L.A. Times, Library Journal, Poetry, Publishers Weekly, and other publications. It has also been featured in several magazines on poetry and writing.
Salerno said four poets to be featured in 2011 are Leslie Lewis, Shara McCallum, Stacy Gnall and Janine Oshiro. “This $25,000 grant will go a long way toward helping bring great poetry to the community. We remain incredibly grateful for the NEA’s continued confidence in Alice James Books.
Read more about Alice James Books here.
This is great news!
Congratulations!