2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012
A National Reading and Writing Promotional Program for children and young adults.
The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, in partnership with and in cooperation with affiliate state centers for the book, invites readers in grades 4 through 12 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 or nonfiction, contemporary or classic, explaining how that author’s work changed the student’s way of thinking about the world or themselves
To view rules and guidelines for submission as well as contest deadlines click here.
Download Teachers’ Guides and Common Core documents.
View images of past Letters About Literature Ceremonies: 2012, 2013, 2014
Level 1 Winners
First Place: Erica Langan (6th Grade: Cincinnati, Ohio)
Letter to Emily Dickinson concerning her poem, “I’m nobody! Who are You?”
Second Place: Rachel Gruslin (6th Grade: Mason, Ohio)
Letter to Cornelia Fluke concerning her book, Thief Lord
Third Place: David Malkin (6th Grade: Sagamore Hills, Ohio)
Letter to Suzanne Collins concerning her book, Hunger Games
Level 1 Semifinalists
Johnny R. C. Davis (6th Grade: Columbus, Ohio)
Letter to Cornelia Fluke concerning her book, Thief Lord
Kaavya Ramachandhran (5th Grade: Mason, Ohio)
Letter to Lauren St. John concerning her book, White Giraffe
Ethan Scheuer (5th Grade: Cleveland, Ohio)
Letter to Gary Paulsen concerning his book, Woodsong
John Slater (5th Grade: Chillicothe, Ohio)
Letter to Wilson Rawls concerning his book, Where the Red Fern Grows
Level 2 Winners
First Place: Natalie Keyes (Columbus, Ohio: 7th Grade)
Letter to Isaac Asimov concerning his short story, “Eyes Do More Than See,” found in the anthology, Robot Dreams
Second Place: Paris Hudson (Cleveland, Ohio: 8th Grade)
Letter to Sharon Draper concerning her Hazelwood High trilogy
Third Place: Lincoln Addington (West Chesterfield, Ohio: 7th Grade)
Letter to Malcolm X concerning his book, Autobiography of Malcolm X
Level 2 Semifinalists
Peter Abou Haidar (8th Grade: Cleveland, Ohio)
Letter to J. K. Rowling concerning her book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Rebecca LaManna (7th Grade: West Chester, Ohio)
Letter to Jay Asher concerning his book, Thirteen Reasons Why
Pheby Liu (7th Grade: Cleveland, Ohio)
Letter to Jacob Boas concerning his book, We Are Witnesses: Five Diaries of Teenagers Who Died in the Holocaust
Meghan Razzini (8th Grade: Upper Arlington, Ohio)
Letter to Shannon Hale concerning her book. Forest Born
Level 3 Winners
First Place: AUDREY COBLE (12th Grade: Gahanna, Ohio)
Letter to Chuck Palahniuk concerning his book, Fight Club
Third Place: KATIE BURLOVICH (12th Grade: Gahanna, Ohio)
Letter to Robert Frost concerning his poem, “Nothing Gold can Stay”
Level 3 Semifinalists
Morgan Minze (11th Grade: Huron, Ohio)
Letter to Sarah Gruen concerning her novel, Water for Elephants
Lauren Rebholz (10th Grade: Strongsville, Ohio)
Letter to J. K. Rowling concerning her Harry Potter series
Kati Sorbin (11th Grade: Parma, Ohio)
Letter to Laurie Halse Anderson concerning her book, Wintergirls
Arie Zuber (12th Grade: Broadview Heights, Ohio)
Letter to Ray Bradbury concerning his book, Fahrenheit 451