UA Center Sponsors ‘Letters About Literature’ Contest for Kids

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The Alabama Center for the Book, housed at The University of Alabama Libraries, is co-sponsoring “Letters About Literature,” a state and national reading and writing contest for schoolchildren in fourth through 12th grade. The annual competition invites young readers to write a personal letter to an author explaining how that author’s work changed the readers’ view of their world.

The annual competition is sponsored by the Alabama Center for the Book in partnership with Center for the Book in the Library of Congress and Target.The contest offers both state and national prizes on three competition levels: Level 1 for children in grades 4 through 6; Level 2 for children in grades 7 and 8; and Level 3 for children in grades 9 through12.The Alabama Center for the Book will judge entries on the state level.

Contest rules ask entrants to “select a fiction or nonfiction book, a short story, poem, essay or speech (no song lyrics) you have read and about which you have strong feelings. Explore those feelings and why you reacted the way you did during or after reading the author’s work.” A complete set of guidelines as well as mailing instructions can be found here.

Six national winners will receive cash awards and will nominate a school or community library to receive a $10,000 LAL Reading Promotion grant.Twelve national honor winners will receive cash awards and also nominate a school or community library to receive a $1,000 LAL Reading Promotion grant.

Entries must be postmarked by Friday, Dec. 10. State winners will be notified in March 2011 and national winners by mid-April. To download the entry guidelines and to learn more about the program, go to www.lettersaboutliterature.org.