Rochester, NY\u2014National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu has approved more than $30 million in grants as part of the NEA\u2019s first major funding announcement for fiscal year 2017. Included in this announcement is an Art Works grant of $40,000 to Open Letter Books for the publication of six works of international literature. 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe arts are for all of us, and by supporting organizations such as Open Letter Books, the National Endowment for the Arts is providing more opportunities for the public to engage with the arts,\u201d said NEA<\/span> Chairman Jane Chu. \u201cWhether in a theater, a town square, a museum, or a hospital, the arts are everywhere and make our lives richer.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s always an honor to receive a National Endowment for the Arts grant,\u201d said Open Letter publisher Chad W. Post. \u201cTheir support goes a long way in helping us to make these amazing works of international literature available to an English-reading audience. Thanks to the NEA<\/span>, readers have access to far more voices from around the world than they otherwise would. This support allows us to take more risks, both in terms of acquiring titles and in the sorts of promotions we\u2019re able to undertake for these books.\u201d<\/p>\n The six titles included in this grant are The Invented Part<\/em> by Rodrigo Fres\u00e1n, translated by Will Vanderhyden (Argentina); The Brahmadells<\/em> by J\u00f3anes Nielsen, translated by Kerri A. Pierce (Faroe Islands); T\u00f3mas J\u00f3nsson, Bestseller<\/em> by Gudbergur Bergsson, translated by Lytton Smith (Iceland); Her Mother\u2019s Mother\u2019s Mother and Her Daughters<\/em> by Maria Jos\u00e9 Silveira, translated by Eric M. Becker (Brazil); The Island of Point Nemo<\/em> by Jean-Marie Blas de Robl\u00e8s, translated by Hannah Chute (France); and The Owls\u2019 Absence<\/em> by Bae Suah, translated by Deborah Smith (South Korea). <\/p>\n All these books will be published in 2017, and several of the authors will tour the United States in support of their books. These titles\u2014as well as the rest of the Open Letter backlist\u2014are available at better bookstores everywhere, and through the press\u2019s website.<\/a> <\/p>\n Open Letter was established in 2007 at the University of Rochester to support the university\u2019s literary translation programs, and to publish a line of high quality, lasting literature in translation. In addition to publishing ten works of international literature every year, the press runs the Three Percent website,<\/a> which is home to the world\u2019s only Translation Database and the Best Translated Book Awards. Additionally, the press organizes the Reading the World Conversation Series, which brings renowned authors and translators to Rochester for an evening of conversation. <\/p>\n