By Dottie Kreps, MPL Community Engagement Specialist—
MUNCIE, IN — The Muncie Public Library invites the community to a special evening with acclaimed author Aimee Nezhukumatathil on Wednesday, February 25 at 6:00 p.m. at Kennedy Library.
Nezhukumatathil’s lyrical essay collection, Bite by Bite Nourishments and Jamborees, was selected as Muncie’s NEA Big Read title for 2025–2026. The library is thrilled to continue its NEA Big Read programming by welcoming the author for an engaging Author Talk and Q&A session. Following the presentation, Nezhukumatathil will be available to sign books and chat with readers.
The event is free and community members can pick up a free copy of Bite by Bite at any Muncie Public Library branch or at participating MPL Big Read partner locations. Books will be available during the Author Talk as well, while supplies last. Seating for the event is first come, first served. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
Other upcoming NEA Big Read events include a variety of community programs and activities designed to celebrate literature, nature, food, and connection. These include book discussions, a photo contest for all ages, and a cookbook project to capture cherished family recipes, along with memories or stories about the recipes.
Kennedy Library is located at 1700 W. McGalliard Road, Muncie. For more information about the Author Talk and the full schedule of NEA Big Read programs, stop by any Muncie Public Library branch, follow MPL on social media, or visit the library website Big Read page at: munciepubliclibrary.org/big-read.
About the Author
Aimee Nezhukumatathil is the New York Times best-selling author of the forthcoming poetry book, NIGHT OWL (Mar. 2026), and two illustrated collections of essays, BITE BY BITE and WORLD OF WONDERS: IN PRAISE OF FIREFLIES, WHALE SHARKS, & OTHER ASTONISHMENTS, which was chosen as Barnes and Noble’s Book of the Year and named a finalist for the Kirkus Prize. She also wrote four previous award-winning poetry collections: OCEANIC, LUCKY FISH, AT THE DRIVE-IN VOLCANO, and MIRACLE FRUIT. With the poet Ross Gay, she co-authored the chapbook LACE & PYRITE, a collaboration of epistolary garden poems. Her writing appears twice in the Best American Poetry Series, The New York Times Magazine, ESPN, Ploughshares, American Poetry Review, and The Paris Review.
Honors include a poetry fellowship from US Artist Fellows, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Pushcart Prize, a Mississippi Arts Council grant, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. For a decade, she served as the poetry editor for Orion and Sierra magazines. A professor of English and Creative Writing for over twenty-five years, she also serves as a firefly guide for Mississippi State Parks.
About the NEA Big Read
The National Endowment for the Arts Big Read—a partnership with Arts Midwest—broadens our understanding of ourselves and our neighbors through the power of a shared reading experience. The goals of the NEA Big Read are to inspire meaningful conversations, celebrate local creativity, elevate a wide variety of voices and perspectives, and build stronger connections in each community.
