The Feminist Press to Receive $35,000 grant from the NEA

The Feminist Press to Receive $35,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts

New York, NY – National Endowment for the Arts Chairman, Jane Chu, has approved more than $30 million in grants as part of the NEA’s first major funding announcement for fiscal year 2017. Included in this announcement is an Art Works grant of $35,000 to the Feminist Press to support the publication and promotion of books of feminist fiction in print and electronic formats, as well as the digitization of classic titles. The Art Works category focuses on the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts, and the strengthening of communities through the arts.

“The arts are for all of us, and by supporting organizations such as the Feminist Press, the National Endowment for the Arts is providing more opportunities for the public to engage with the arts,” said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. “Whether in a theater, a town square, a museum, or a hospital, the arts are everywhere and make our lives richer.”

Jennifer Baumgardner, Executive Director at the Feminist Press says, “For us, the longstanding support we have gotten from NEA is worth so much more than the money. It reflects a statement of values in line with our own, one that works consistently to lift up the most marginalized voices.” 

The grant will support the publication of three important works of literature by women—a debut novel by Felicia Sullivan and two literary works in translation by Hanna Krall and Romina Paula. Follow Me Into the Dark is a work of noirish suspense by a young biracial American author. Our works in translation are from Poland and Argentina—countries whose literature, especially that by women, is under-translated. They are beautifully written and sensitively translated accounts of little-known or poorly understood moments in history. We will also digitize eleven Feminist Press classics, with a focus on American immigrants. Ensuring the digitization of these literary gems enables us to make them accessible to more readers, more classrooms, and to preserve them for our future community of readers.

For more information on projects included in the NEA grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.