The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, in cooperation with Utah State Center for the Book and in partnership with Target Stores, invites readers ages 9-18 to enter Letters About Literature, a national reading-writing contest.
To enter, readers write a personal letter to an author, living or dead, from any genre--fiction, nonfiction, or poetry, contemporary or classic--explaining how that author's work changed the student's way of thinking about the world or themselves.
There are three competition levels:
* Level I for children in grades 4 through 6;
* Level II for grades 7 and 8,
* Level III, grades 9 - 12.
State winners, announced in March each year, receive cash awards.
National winners, announce in late April, receive additional prizes and earn for their school or community library LAL Reading Promotion.
Grants valued at thousands of dollars!
LAL focuses on reader response and reflective writing. We provide free teaching materials, including lesson plans, writing samples, assessment checklists, and teacher tips--all downloadable through this site.
LAL supports educational standards established for reading and language arts as recommended by the International Reading
Association and the National Council for the Teaching of English.
Visit www.lettersaboutliterature.org for guidelines on how to enter. | 
