This year’s Big Read selection includes Charles Yu’s “Interior Chinatown.” (photo courtesy of LADCA)

The Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs has received two grants to further the Big Read program.

The National Endowment for the Arts’ Big Read program broadens understanding of the world, communities and people through the power of shared reading experiences. A $20,000 NEA grant will support community readings of “Interior Chinatown” by Charles Yu. The Department of Cultural Affairs also received $25,000 from Sony Pictures Entertainment to support reading groups and art making projects throughout Los Angeles with activities for students and families, panel discussions and workshops. The educational public events run through June at sites throughout the city including the Barnsdall Junior Arts Center, 4800 Hollywood Blvd., and Craft Contemporary, 5814 Wilshire Blvd.

“It is inspiring to see how NEA Big Read grantees like the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs utilize these books as launch pads for their own programming, often creating opportunities for community conversations, new partnerships and encouraging participants to incorporate art into their daily lives,” said Maria Rosario Jackson, chair of the National Endowment for the Arts.

The NEA Big Read program offers a range of titles that reflect many different voices and perspectives. It aims to inspire meaningful conversations, artistic responses and new discoveries and connections in communities.

Yu’s novel is an insightful and inventive exploration of Asian American identity and representation in popular culture. Written in the form of a television screenplay, “Interior Chinatown” tells the story of actor Willis Wu, who is doomed to play generic Asian characters in a TV procedural called “Black and White.” The series is forever in production, dictating the roles of everyone in the book based on their race, gender and age.

Since 2006, the NEA has funded more than 1,700 Big Read programs. For information and a complete list of events, visit culturela.org/programs-and-initiatives/nea-big-read-los-angeles.