An initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) offered in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest, The Big Read is designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The program offers grants to organizations in local communities to engage citizens in the reading of literature by exploring and discussing a single book within their communities. Organizations selected to participate in The Big Read receive a grant, financial support to attend a national orientation meeting, educational and promotional materials for broad distribution, an organizer’s guide for developing and managing Big Read activities, and additional resources.

The NEA inaugurated The Big Read as a pilot project in 2006 with ten communities featuring four books. The Big Read continues to expand to include more communities in the U.S., programming in four countries abroad, and over twenty additional book selections. By 2009, approximately 500 communities in the U.S. will have hosted a Big Read since the program's 2007 national launch. For more information, see www.neabigread.org.