NYSCA GRANTS BUDGET INCREASED BY $6.5 MILLION

In the newly adopted state budget, Governor Eliot Spitzer and the State Legislature have agreed to an increase of $6.5 million for grants to cultural organizations in fiscal year 2008, raising the total to $49 million. The New York State Council on the Arts' operating budget was also increased by $410,000 to a total of $6.1 million. For more information, please see www.budget.state.ny.us/pubs/enacted/enacted.html.

PEN WORLD VOICES: FESTIVAL OF INTERNATIONAL LITERATURE IN NEW YORK CITY APRIL 24-29

From Tuesday, April 24 to Sunday, April 29, the third annual PEN World Voices festival will feature 162 writers from 45 countries. The authors will represent 21 languages at events across New York City. Each event will be presented in English thanks to the efforts of many translators. Among the many authors will be well-known figures such as Salman Rushdie, Nadine Gordimer, Sam Shepard and Steve Martin as well as newcomers such as Koffi Kwahulé, Arnon Grunberg, Mónica de la Torre and Sean Wilsey.

APRIL 27 IS POEM IN YOUR POCKET DAY

April is National Poetry Month. To celebrate the occasion, New Yorkers are encouraged to carry a poem in their pocket on Friday, April 27 and share it with friends, family, co-workers and classmates. Public schools throughout the five boroughs will highlight poetry on this day through readings, workshops and specifically designed lesson plans. In addition, cultural organizations and libraries throughout the city have planned dozens of events leading up to and on Poem in Your Pocket Day, from poetry discussions to an open mic reading at Bryant Park on April 27 from 10 am to 4:30 pm.

AMERICANS FOR THE ARTS CONVENTION IN LAS VEGAS JUNE 1-3

This year, Americans for the Arts will hold its convention in Las Vegas. The convention will feature Arts & Economic Prosperity III, a nationwide study of nonprofit arts organizations and their audiences, as well as the culminating event in the MetLife Foundation National Arts Forum Series on the role of arts education in lifelong productivity.

ALLIANCE BENEFIT ON MAY 31

PEOPLE

Dionne Mack-Harvin has been appointed the new executive director of Brooklyn Public Library. Ms. Mack-Harvin has been the interim executive director of the library since June, 2006.

Brett Littman is the new executive director of the Drawing Center. He comes to his new position from P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, an affiliate of the Museum of Modern Art, where he was deputy director.

NEWS AT THE ALLIANCE

Charsha Mauldin has joined the Alliance as the sixth Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Fellow for Public Policy and the Arts. Charsha received her B.A. from the University of Michigan and most recently she worked for Safe Horizon as a domestic violence counselor. She will be joining the Peace Corps in the fall.