To produce a series of books containing U.S. literary classics which are out ofprint.

To make American literature available to the widest possible readership. To produce a uniform series of volumes, ultimately to include the central texts of American literature. The series will be offered to the public at a subsidized price.

Implementation of nationwide library programs, a traveling exhibition, a website, and a publication of an anthology exploring how World War I reshaped American lives.

The Library of America requests a grant in the amount of $702,345 in partial support of World War I: A Centennial Exploration Through the Words of Americans Who Lived It, a major national program marking the centenary of the country’s entry into the war in 1917. The project has two related objectives. The first is to bring members of the veteran community together with the general public to explore the transformative impact of the First World War by learning about, reading, discussing, and sharing insights into the writings of Americans from diverse backgrounds who experienced it first-hand. The second objective is to develop, curate, and make permanently and widely available an annotated narrative collection of firsthand American World War I writings in print and ebook form that will encourage exploration and discussion of the war’s meanings and resonances long after the centennial is over.  

Implementation of a multiformat project that would encourage public exploration of the transformative impact and contested meanings of the Civil War through the words of a wide variety of first-hand participants.

The Library of America requests a grant in the amount of $686,367 in partial support of "Civil War 150," a major national program designed to encourage public exploration of the transformative impact and contested meanings of the Civil War through the words of a wide variety of first-hand participants.

To support development of an editorial process, including selection criteria, textual authority, and production standards, for a series of American autobiographical and biographical writings.

To support the publication of a comprehensive, textually authoritative anthology of American poetry in the 20th century, including more than 1,000 poems by nearly 200 poets.

Implementation of two museum exhibitions, a website, and a year of public programs at 50 libraries nationwide examining the work of writer Isaac Bashevis Singer and the immigrant literary tradition in America.

Production of an anthology of African American poetry and an accompanying series of reading and discussion programs.

Library of America requests a grant in the amount of $458,418 in partial support of Lift Every Voice: Why African American Poetry Matters Today, a major national initiative to explore and reassess the multifaceted African American poetic tradition, its complex engagement with American history over 250 years, and its ongoing relevance to our national life. The project has two related objectives. One is to bring together Americans of varied backgrounds around the country to engage with the richness of this essential American tradition in ways that illuminate the continuities and discontinuities between past and present and offer context and insight into questions that remain of vital national importance. The second is to make permanently available a groundbreaking anthology reflecting several generations of scholarly and archival research and rediscovery that will encourage exploration and discussion of the tradition’s meanings and resonances long after the project is over.

The publication of "American Poetry: The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries" (two volumes) and an expanded volume of selected works by Captain John Smith and other early exploration narratives.

The editorial development and publication by Library of America of a book for general readers featuring 60 excerpts of influential figures from the 18th-20th centuries as well as short interpretive essays that illustrate the enduring significance of the Declaration of Independence.

No text is as essential as the Declaration of Independence to understanding our history as a people and the unique contribution our political culture has made to the world. Yet the vivid historical writings that show how it came to be, and why it has remained a cultural and political touchstone, have never been available in an accessible format designed for a wide readership. Library of America requests a grant to support editorial development and publication of a book for general readers to meet this need. Informed by rigorous scholarship and designed to be one of the definitive publications of the 250th anniversary commemoration, The Living Declaration: A Biography of America’s Founding Text will trace how our national charter has defined and shaped the democratic aspirations of Americans and others for over two centuries. As the nation marks 250 years of independence, The Living Declaration will encourage us to look anew at a vital American text whose history is still unfolding.