NEA announces appointment of new Director of Literature

IFACCA/Artshub, 24 August 2005,USA

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has appointed San Francisco Chronicle Book Critic David Kipen as the agency's Director of Literature. Kipen will be charged with leading several national leadership initiatives, developing partnerships to advance the literature field, and managing the review process for literature applications. He will assume his new Directorial responsibilities on September 6, 2005. National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Dana Gioia said, "The National Endowment for the Arts has a tradition of Literature Directors who have regarded literature as one of mankind's highest arts and most moving means of communication. David Kipen upholds that tradition with a wealth of knowledge and experience in the world of the written word. I know that he will not only carry on the great work of the NEA's Literature program, he will explore new ways of connecting Americans to great writing and great writers." Since 2000, Kipen has been the book critic for the San Francisco Chronicle. He is also a book critic and essayist for National Public Radio's "Day to Day" program and presents Santa Monica station KCRW-FM's weekly commentary and podcast "Overbooked." As well as his journalistic commitments, Kipen has served on prize juries for the National Book Critics Circle, the Commonwealth Club of California, and PEN Center USA. He was also on the boards of the National Book Critics Circle and PEN Center USA. He is also the editor and author of the forthcoming book The Schreiber Theory: A Radical Rewrite of Film History from Agee to Zaillian. For further information, CLICK HERE

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