Literary arts nonprofits support writers and readers in towns and cities across the U.S., holding festivals and events, publishing stories and poems, supporting mentorship and residencies, and celebrating artistic achievements. But literature receives the least funding from arts grants in the U.S., receiving only 1.9 percent of the total award dollars.
A new philanthropic pooled fund, the Literary Arts Fund, aims to dramatically increase support for literary culture with a commitment of at least $50 million over 5 years to support the nonprofit literary arts field. MacArthur is contributing $5 million to the pooled fund, to help sustain the vitality and independence of American literature and the many voices and ideas that shape our collective imagination.
“Writers expand our imaginations, challenge our perspectives, and deepen our understanding of one another. Yet the organizations that sustain them are too often under-resourced,” said John Palfrey, President of the MacArthur Foundation. “At MacArthur, we believe supporting the nonprofit literary arts is essential to ensuring that vital stories—across backgrounds, communities, and generations—continue to be told. This new fund represents a bold and collaborative commitment to sustaining the creative voices that help shape our culture and our democracy.”