Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Ecotone, UNCW’s literary magazine, and Lookout Books, the Department of Creative Writing’s literary book imprint, have received a $10,000 Art Works grant from the National Endowment of the Arts. The grant will support the publication of Ecotone, a magazine that seeks to reimagine place, including work from future Lookout Books authors.

Creative Writing Chair David Gessner said, “From the beginning, Ecotone has been about the importance of loving and fighting for wild places. It is heartening to see the NEA support this mission in a time when many have forgotten our deep connection to place.”

According to the NEA, 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 Ecotone and Lookout Books, the National Endowment for the Arts is providing more opportunities for the public to engage with the arts,” said NEA Chairman Jane Chu.

Both Ecotone and Lookout Books are dedicated to teaching the craft of publishing. Students contribute to editing, design and publicity for all publications. The magazine’s fall 2017 issue will focus on writing as a craft as well as on evolving ideas about artisanship and the handmade, and will be accompanied by letterpress-printed ephemera.

“The NEA’s support is invaluable to Ecotone’s mission to seek out excellent place-based literature from a wide range of contributors, and to Lookout Books’ mission to publish emerging and historically underrepresented writers,” says Anna Lena Phillips Bell, Ecotone editor and lecturer in creative writing at UNCW. “Crucially, this support aids our collective goal of passing down the craft of literary editing, design and marketing to our students. We are deeply thankful to the NEA for helping to making this work possible.”

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

-- Andrea Monroe Weaver

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