Monroe County Museum has received a $7800 grant from the Alabama State Council on the Arts to fund the 25th annual Monroeville Literary Festival, to be held March 4 & 5, 2022 in the Literary Capital of Alabama.
With these funds, Monroe County Museum will bring writers and readers together in a 2-day festival promoting the literary arts by featuring workshops, panel discussions, author readings and live music, centered around Monroeville’s historic downtown square. This grant signifies that through this project, Monroe County Museum is making Alabama’s communities stronger and our state’s arts and culture sector more vibrant.
“The Museum is a natural home for the Monroeville Literary Festival,” explains Monroe County Museum Executive Director Wanda Green. “Housed in the courthouse made famous by To Kill a Mockingbird and newly designated a National Historic Landmark, the Museum is proud to have this opportunity to take on an event that will further cement Monroeville’s status as the Literary Capital of Alabama.”
The planned schedule, other information and advance registration for the festival are available on the website www.monroevilleliteraryfestival.com. Attendees will begin their weekend with sign-in at the Old Courthouse Museum before enjoying the planned series of author readings and discussions, most of which will be held in the courtroom made famous by the film version of Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Book signings by the participating authors will follow each program, with books by the authors available for purchase at the Bird’s Nest Gift Shop, located inside the museum. Admission to author sessions is free to all registered participants, but there is a charge for other events.
This grant, awarded by the Alabama State Council on the Arts, is made possible through funding from an annual appropriation from the Alabama State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts. This public support enables Monroe County Museum to reach new audiences, foster community development, provide the highest quality programming, and demonstrate the importance of arts as a key component for quality of life in Alabama.
About Monroe County Museum The Monroe County Museum maintains and operates four historic sites in Monroe County that collectively interpret the area’s rich history, ranging from the prehistoric fossil deposits at Claiborne Bluff, Native American culture, pioneer life, politics and the literary legacies of writers Truman Capote and Harper Lee. The Old Courthouse houses museum offices and our principal exhibits. Today, thousands of Mockingbird fans visit Monroeville each year in search of the novel’s fictional setting of Maycomb. Informative exhibits about Harper Lee and her childhood friend Truman Capote guide visitors to the famous courtroom, restored as it was in the 1930s. After being listed on the National Register of Historic Places since the early 1970’s, on January 13, 2021, the Secretary of the Interior designated the Monroe County Courthouse a National Historic Landmark (NHL), a select national network of historic places; fewer than 3 percent of the properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places are NHLs. The designation is the highest recognition bestowed by the Executive Branch of the Federal government and reflects the national importance of the site to the American people. For more information on the museum, please visit www.monroecountymuseum.org.
About Alabama State Council onthe Arts
The Council on the Arts is the official state agency for the support and development of the arts in Alabama. The Council works to expand and preserve the state’s cultural resources by supporting nonprofit arts organizations, schools, colleges, units of local government, and individual artists. Arts programs, assisted by Council grants, have a track record of enhancing community development, education, cultural tourism, and overall quality of life in all regions of the state. Alabama State Council on the Arts grants are made possible by an annual appropriation from the Alabama Legislature and additional funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. Learn more at arts.alabama.gov.
