The National Endowment for the Arts director of literature programs Ira Silverberg has decided to leave the federal agency on July 11, 2013. The former Sterling Lord Literistic literary agent took his current post in October 2011.
Literature program officer Amy Stolls will serve as acting director of literature until a new director is in place. Silverberg joined the NEA in October 2011. He offered offered this statement:
My time here has been nothing but extraordinary. Having had a chance to see, first hand, the various transitions our field is going through — podcasts, e-books, changes in the retail landscape — has been humbling. Helping to guide our field through those transitions has been empowering and has provided me with an education I could find nowhere else. Briefly, the demands of family are such that I must return to New York. This is a bittersweet time for me as I have truly loved the work I do here — and have been aided by a stellar staff.
(Link via Sarah Weinman)