Letters About Literature Competition

Students can revisit their most powerful literary experiences through a contest that asks them to write a personal letter to an author and explain how his or her work changed their perspective on the world.

The national Letters About Literature competition is open to students in grades 4 through 12, and submissions are being accepted until December 10, 2010. In South Carolina, the annual competition is sponsored by the South Carolina State Library’s Center for the Book and the South Carolina State Library Foundation in partnership with Target and the Library of Congress Center for the Book.

To enter, readers write a letter to an author, past or present, describing how that author’s work made an impact on their life. Contestants are cautioned not to summarize the book’s plot, but to express in an honest, conversational tone, how the book affected them. The contest, which focuses on reader response and reflective writing, has three competition levels: Level 1 for students in grades 4-6; Level 2 for students in grades 7 and 8; and Level 3 for students in grades 9-12. State winners’ letters will also be judged to determine national winners and national honors winners. National winners will receive a $10,000 Letters About Literature Reading Promotion Grant for their library and national honors winners will receive a $1,000 Letters About Literature Reading Promotion Grant for their library. South Carolina state winners will be recognized by the South Carolina State Library's Center for the Book at a program in June 2011.

To download the official entry guidelines, visit http://lettersaboutliterature.org.

About the S.C. State Library
The South Carolina State Library is the primary administrator of federal and state support for the state’s libraries. The Library is a national model for innovation, collaboration, leadership and effectiveness. The Library’s mission is to optimize South Carolina’s investment in library and information services. In 1969, as the result of action by the General Assembly, the State Library Board was redesignated as the South Carolina State Library and assumed responsibility for public library development, library service for state institutions, service for the blind and physically handicapped, and library service to state government agencies. Headquartered in Columbia, S.C., the Library is funded by the state of South Carolina, by the federal government through the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and other sources. For more information, visit www.statelibrary.sc.gov or call 803-734-8666.

SC Humanities is happy to support the promotion of this important student competition encouraging literacy and love of reading. The mission of SC Humanities is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians. SC Humanities programs and initiatives are balanced, reflecting sensitivity to the diversity of ideas, encourage open dialogue, demonstrate integrity, and are ethical in operations.