UNCW’s Lookout Books Receives Emergency Literary Arts Funding

Friday, April 29, 2022

Lookout Books, the literary book publisher of UNCW’s Department of Creative Writing, is among more than 300 organizations and publishers to receive financial assistance from the Literary Arts Emergency Fund, supported by the Mellon Foundation.

“We are thrilled to receive this vital support, which will go a long way in maintaining our reach and impact as an award-winning educational press that provides both a haven for emerging and historically underrepresented authors, as well as learnings in the UNCW Student Publishing,” said Emily Smith, Founder and Publisher of Lookout. “This grant also places us among some of the nation’s fastest growing literary organizations, an ecosystem of presses, magazines, and programs working to increase the visibility of our authors and to bring their stories to readers.”

Lookout will receive $10,000 in unrestricted funds, the largest prize to date for the publishing company. The funds go help cover expenses for Lookout’s next book, Bigger That Bravery: Black Resilience and Complaint in a Weather of Pandemicwhich is due out in September 2022, and supports future initiatives and acquisitions.

Through the Smith Publishing Internship, UNCW students participate in all aspects of the book publishing process. They help with grant writing; developing media campaigns and author tours; design of book covers and interiors; and support the faculty editorial team in reading submissions, editing and proofreading. Students in the publishing program also support the work of Lookout’s award-winning partner magazine, Ecotone.

Many alumni of the publishing program now lead and innovate in dozens of literary entities across the country: Hub City Press, Ecco, Orion magazine, Sierra magazine, Southern Humanities JournalMinnesota Center for Book Arts, Hugo House, and WW Norton, among others.

The full press release announcing the Literary Arts Emergency Fund awards is posted online.

–Krissy Vick

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