On May 29, the Library of Congress announced the 2018 winners of Letters About Literature, it’s national reading-writing competition for young people in grades 4-12. Now in its 26th year, the competition encourages students of all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands to enter the annual competition, where they write to an author about how his or her work affected their lives. The mission of the program is to instill a lifelong love of reading in our nation’s youth and to engage and nurture their passion for literature. As Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden related in the Letter About Literature press release: Letters About Literature provides an authentic writing experience for students to reflect on their own reading and connect with an author. As a librarian, I know first-hand how important the link is between reading and writing. Children who read will write better and children who write will read more.
More than 46,800 young readers from across the country participated in this year’s contest, which is promoted by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress through its affiliated state centers. Winners are chosen for each state in three levels: Level 1 (grades 4-6), Level 2 (grades 7-8) and Level 3 (grades 9-12). For each level, a National Prize winner and two National Honor winners are chosen. View 2018 and past Letters About Literature National Winners.
Ohio Center for the Book chose its state level winners and honorable finalists from among the more than 3,000 entries submitted by students from across Ohio. View Letters About Literature State Level Winners.
The national program is made possible by a generous grant from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, with additional support from gifts to the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress.