NEW YORK CITY: Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre and the publisher of American Theatre magazine, is proud to launch Plays for the People: In the Stacks, a program to increase access to dramatic literature for a significant number of individuals by expanding and diversifying drama collections. With funding from the Mellon Foundation, TCG will provide $25,000 total in book credits to universities and theatre/performing arts training programs, public lending libraries, and community centers based in the U.S. (including Tribal Nations and U.S. Territories) to expand their drama collections with titles published by TCG Books. Since its founding in 1984, TCG Books has grown to become North America’s largest independent trade publisher of dramatic literature, with 20 winners of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama on its book list.
“In a report published by the National Endowment for the Arts, the number of adults reading plays increased by nearly 1 percent to 8.8 million in 2017,” said Teresa Eyring, executive director and CEO of TCG, in a statement. “The NEA attributed these gains to an uptick in the percentage of readers who are women, Hispanic, African American, and in the 35- to 44-year-old age range. Thanks to support from the Mellon Foundation, our In the Stacks program will expand and diversify the collections at a wide range of public-facing institutions to meet this growing appetite for dramatic literature.”
Added Erin Salvi and Kathy Sova, co-publishers of TCG Books, in a statement, “In 2018, a School Library Journal diversity survey confirmed that 81 percent of school librarians felt that it was ‘very important to have a book collection representing different points of view.’ In the Stacks will help ensure that theatr lovers across the country will find their experiences authentically reflected in the stacks of their local libraries, community centers, and educational institutions.”
The In the Stacks program will provide 50 applicants with a $500 credit each for books published by TCG Books, including shipping costs. The credit can also be applied to the cost of access to the TCG Books Play Collection on Drama Online. The deadline for application is Friday, Dec. 8, at 11:59 p.m. ET. Learn more about the program here: https://www.tcg.org/Web/Our-Work/Grant-and-Professional-Development-Programs/in-the-stacks/overview.aspx
Since its founding in 1984, TCG Books has grown to become North America’s largest independent trade publisher of dramatic literature. The book program commits to the life-long career of its playwrights, keeping all of their plays in print. TCG Books authors include Annie Baker, Nilo Cruz, Jackie Sibblies Drury, Larissa FastHorse, Athol Fugard, Quiara Alegría Hudes, David Henry Hwang, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Adrienne Kennedy, Tony Kushner, Young Jean Lee, Lynn Nottage, Suzan-Lori Parks, Sarah Ruhl, Heidi Schreck, Stephen Sondheim, Sanaz Toossi, Paula Vogel, and August Wilson, among many others. TCG Books events are supported in part by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
