Pomona awarded Big Read grant

For the fifth consecutive year the National Endowment for the Arts has awarded a Big Read grant to Pomona.

City leaders formally accepted the grant at this week's City Council meeting.

The $17,000 grant will be used to fund Big Read activities which will revolve around "The Maltese Falcon" by Dashiell Hammett.

"This was a very competitive process," said Pat Lambert, a senior librarian at the Pomona Public Library and a coordinator of the event.

Pomona is one of 75 groups across the country that earned grants, she said.

Big Read activities are centered around a book considered a significant work of American or world literature.

This year's book is one of literature's greatest mystery novels, Lambert said, and is expected to appeal to young male readers and could entice them to develop an interest in reading.

Big Read activities are expected to begin Oct. 7 and continue through mid November.

This year's Big Read kickoff event will be a panel discussion focusing on classic California noir and the lives of some of its most prominent writers.

Leading the panel will be Denise Hamilton, author of "Los Angeles Noir" and will feature Julie Rivett, granddaughter of author Dashiell Hammett; Judith Freeman, biographer of Raymond Chandler; and Ross Macdonald, biographer of Tom Nolan.

The event is set for Oct. 7 at Western University of Health Sciences, 309 E. Second St. The evening will begin with a 6 p.m. reception followed by the panel discussion and conclude with a book signing of books available for purchase.

Pomona's Big Read will offer residents numerous activities with something available for every age group ranging from book discussions to screenings of the film version of the "The Maltese Falcon" starring Humphrey Bogart, Lambert said.

Numerous community groups and non-profits will participate in the event by organizing activities and programs with ties to the book, she said.

A complete list of Big Read activities will be posted on the city's and library's web site after Sept. 1, according to a statement from the city.