Three Kentucky organizations receive NEA grants for community reading projects

77 grants awarded for $1 million

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 11, 2016) — Gateway Community and Technical College, Paramount Arts Center and Pennyroyal Arts Council Inc. are among 77 recipients of $1 million in NEA Big Read grants by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Grants support organizations in developing community-wide reading programs between September 2016 and June 2017 to encourage reading and participation by diverse audiences.

Gateway Community and Technical College, in Florence, received $12,000 to host a project on “A Lesson Before Dying” by Ernest J. Gaines. Paramount Arts Council, in Ashland, was awarded $14,000 for a project focusing on “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. Pennyroyal Arts Council, in Hopkinsville, was awarded $14,000 for a project on Edgar Allan Poe.