Deep Vellum Receives Two Grants from the Texas Commission on the Arts

Thanks to the generous support of the Texas Commission on the Arts, Deep Vellum will continue to bring the literary arts to Dallas—and to Texans across the state. Deep Vellum has been awarded two grants from the Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA) to help bring writer sand readers into conversation over the next year.

The first grant, part of the TCA’s Arts Create program, will support Deep Vellum’s general operations, including publishing works of literature, hosting literary events, and amplifying the voices of writers across Texas. From September 2020 to August 2021, TCA Arts Create funding will help Deep Vellum publish 24 works of literature by international and Texas-based writers and develop a full roster of literary events and activities for readers of all communities. Deep Vellum is especially excited that the TCA plans to support virtual events, which will allow readers and writers from all locations across Texas to convene to build a more robust statewide literary community.

The TCA has also awarded Deep Vellum an Arts Respond grant to support five publications of contemporary significance to Texans. Among these publications are a forthcoming volume of poetry entitled Welcome to Midland, by Dallas-based writer Logen Cure, about her experience growing up in West Texas; Beauty Salon, a novella by Mexican writer Mario Bellatin that has been an evocative symbol for the AIDS epidemic in Latin America and has particular relevance during the present Covid-19 pandemic; and The Nightgown and Other Poems, a bewitching debut collection of fairytale-turned-feminist poetry by Austin-based Russian American writer Taisia Kitaiskaia. In addition to publishing these works, Deep Vellum will host a variety of events to bring these writers to the Texas public.

The premier funding organization for artistic programming across the state, the TCA has long recognized the artistic value not only of the performing and visual arts, but also of the literary arts.

Deep Vellum Executive Director Will Evans explains, “Not everyone—and certainly not every organization—across the United States recognizes or understands the role of the literary arts in a vibrant arts community. We’re so grateful that the TCA knows that literary creation is valuable to any thriving arts ecosystem, and we love being among the great literary organizations that theTCA funds. It’s a rich community of friends and partners.”