Letters About Literature Essay Contest

2008 Letters About Literature contest

Do you want to give your students an opportunity to win a $10,000 grant for the library of their choice? Encourage them to enter the annual Letters About Literature contest!

Sponsored locally by the Minnesota Humanities Center and nationally by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress in partnership with Target, the contest asks students to write a letter to an author, past or present, describing how that author’s work changed the student’s view of the world or of himself/herself. Readers can select authors from any genre, fiction or nonfiction, contemporary or classic.

Watch for announcement of the 2009 contest this fall.
(Entries are usually due in mid-December.)

State winners advance to the national competition. Winners at both state and national levels receive prizes. The national winners will receive a $500 Target GiftCard, and – new this year – each national winner will receive a $10,000 Letters About Literature Reading Promotion Grant for their community or school library so that others can experience personal relationships with authors and the stories they tell! Additionally, the national honorable mention winners will each receive a $100 Target GiftCard and a $1,000 Letters About Literature Reading Promotion Grant for the community or school library of their choice. State-level winners receive a certificate from the Humanities Center, a cash award, and a Target GiftCard.

Competition levels:

Level I, for students in grades 4 through 6
Level II, for grades 7 and 8
Level III, for grades 9 through 12

If you have questions about the contest, contact Tom Fitzpatrick.

2008 sponsors and volunteers

Thanks to our newspaper sponsor the St. Paul Pioneer Press and co-sponsor the Minnesota Council of Teachers of English.

And thanks to our volunteer judges:

Barb Axel, retired English/reading teacher
Monticello, MN

Glenda Holste, editor of "Minnesota Educator"
Education Minnesota
St. Paul, MN

Jane Turpin Moore, freelance writer
Minnesota Humanities Center board member
Worthington, MN

Mai Neng Moua, author/editor/writer-in-residence
Minneapolis, MN

Pat D. Reisenger, director
Education Minnesota Foundation for Excellence in Teaching and Learning
St. Paul, MN

Keith Richter, English instructor/writing center coordinator
Inver Hills Community College
Inver Grove Heights, MN

Mary Margaret Sullivan, library branch supervisor
St. Paul Public Library
St. Paul, MN

Will Weaver, author and retired college English professor
Bemidji, MN

Mary Winget, senior editor
Lerner Publishing Group
Minneapolis, MN

Sign up for more information
This form is for Minnesota residents only. If you are from another state, please contact your own state's Center for the Book for more information about the Letters About Literature competition.

If you experience problems with this form, email the webmaster.

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