Letters About Literature is a
reflective writing competition sponsored by the Library of Congress Center for
the Book and presented in association with state organizations. This
year, for the first time, California School Library Association is the
organization in charge of promoting and coordinating the program in our state.
LAL is designed to promote
reading and thoughtful writing by encouraging readers to write a letter to an
author, living or dead, explaining how his or her work changed their
perspective on the world or themselves. Students may write about fiction or
nonfiction. Letters should be personal and sincere, more like a private
conversation than a book report or fan letter.
State judges will select the top
letter writers in California, who then advance to the national competition.
There is a cash prize for the state winner at each level, and nine letters from
each level are selected for honorable mention.
The deadline is January 12, 2018.
State winners and honorable mention recipients are announced in April.
Contest guidelines, entry coupon,
teaching guide, letters by winners from past years, FAQs and a promotional
video are available at http://read.gov/letters/
Here is a link to the entry coupon. Entries must be typewritten and mailed to the Library of Congress. Each letter must have its own entry coupon, but teachers and/or librarians may send letters with their entry forms in one envelop to the LOC.
