Poetry Foundation Gives Alice James Books $30,000
The grant is one of 52 awards totaling $1.52 million to nonprofit poetry organizations, presses and publications.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Philanthropy
The Poetry Foundation awarded $30,000 to Alice James Books, a poetry press based in New Gloucester, Maine. It is one of 52 recipients sharing a combined $1.52 million in grants to nonprofit poetry organizations, presses and publications.
Why it matters
The funding supports a nonprofit literary press as it begins a new five-year strategic plan. Grants of this kind help sustain independent publishing for poets and readers beyond the Maine press.
The Poetry Foundation distributed $1.52 million across 52 nonprofit recipients, with Alice James Books receiving $30,000. The extraction does not detail the selection criteria or whether awards were uniform in size.
The players
Poetry Foundation
The Poetry Foundation is a Chicago-based nonprofit that promotes poetry and funds poetry organizations, presses and publications.
Alice James Books
Alice James Books is a nonprofit poetry press founded in 1973 and based in New Gloucester, Maine.
The details
Alice James Books will use the Poetry Foundation funding to strengthen its publishing program, expand author support and engage new audiences. The press, founded in 1973, is starting a new five-year strategic plan that the grant will help advance.
Timeline
1973: Alice James Books is founded.
November 6, 2026: The Poetry Foundation announces the grant awards.
A five-year strategic plan period begins following the award.
Philanthropy Landscape
The Poetry Foundation's award of $1.52 million across 52 recipients reflects its ongoing grant program supporting independent poetry publishing. Grants like this one help nonprofit presses such as Alice James Books fund publishing and author programs outside the commercial market.
For Maine readers, the grant supports a local literary press that publishes poetry and runs author programs. Readers interested in contemporary poetry may find more titles and events from Alice James Books as its new strategic plan takes effect.
The takeaway
Independent poetry presses depend on grants like this one to fund publishing and reach new readers. Supporting local nonprofit literary publishers helps keep poetry accessible beyond major commercial markets.
Further reading
Explore more nonprofit funding stories in Philanthropy coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Bangor Daily News.
