Young readers in grades 4-12 are invited to write a personal letter to an author for the Letters about Literature (LAL) contest, a national reading and writing promotion program. The letter can be to any author (living or dead) from any genre (fiction or nonfiction, contemporary or classic) explaining how that author’s work changed the student’s view of the world. This reading and writing promotion is sponsored by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, in partnership with the South Carolina Center for the Book and the South Carolina State Library with financial support from the South Carolina State Library Foundation.
Prizes will be awarded on both the state and national levels. The South Carolina Center for the Book’s panel of judges will select the top letter writers in the state, to be honored in an awards ceremony on April 29, 2015. Their winning letters will be published online at the South Carolina Center for the Book’s website. South Carolina winners will also receive monetary prizes, and then advance to the national judging.
A panel of national judges for the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress will select one national winner per competition level (Level I for grades 4-6, Level II for grades 7-8, and Level III for grades 9-12) to receive a $1,000 cash award, to be announced May 2015. The judges will also select one national honor winner on each competition level to receive a $200 cash award. South Carolina winners will receive $100 for first place, $50 for second place, and $25 for third place in each level.
Teachers, librarians, and parents can download free teaching materials on reader response and reflective writing, along with contest details and entry forms. Last year’s South Carolina winners may be found at the ReadSC.org website.
Submissions from Grades 9-12 must be postmarked by December 15, 2014. Submissions from Grades 4-8 must be postmarked by January 15, 2015.
For more information, please contact Dr. Curtis R. Rogers at 803-734-8928 or crogers@statelibrary.sc.gov.
