Letters About Literature
Honorees with Gov. Dave Heineman at
the April 10, 2013, proclamation-signing ceremony. Also pictured:
Rod Wagner, Nebraska Library Commission, and Mary Ellen Ducey,
Nebraska Center for the Book.
About
LAL is a national reading and writing promotion program sponsored by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress and presented in partnership with participating affiliate state centers for the book. Letters About Literature is coordinated and sponsored in Nebraska by the Nebraska Center for the Book and the Nebraska Library Commission.
To enter, readers write a personal letter to an author, living or dead, from any genre—fiction, nonfiction, or poetry, contemporary or classic—explaining how that author’s work changed the student’s way of thinking about the world or themselves.
Contest participants compete on three levels:
- Level I for young readers in grades 4-6
- Level II for young adult readers in grades 7-8
- Level III for readers in grades 9-10
Letters About Literature awards prizes on both the state and national levels. Each state center has its own panel of judges who select the top essayists in the state. State winners will receive prizes, and then advance to the national competition.
How to enter
The deadline for submissions for the 2013 contest is Friday, Jan. 11, 2013. The Nebraska Center for the Book will notify state winners in mid-April 2013 and national winners in early May 2013. View and print the Guidelines and Entry Form for Schools & Libraries [pdf format] [word format].
Visit the official website for additional information. You may also contact Mary Jo Ryan for state-specific information and prize details. For more information, call 402-471-3434 or 800-307-2665.
2012-2013 Winners
View the Proclamation,
which lists the Honorees [PDF]
- Level I: Sydney Miller, Lincoln; Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper
- Level II: Shannon Chinn, Omaha; Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury -- Congratulations to Shannon, also the National Runner-Up this year!
- Level III: Young-Joon Park, Elkhorn; Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
2012-2013 Alternate Winners
- Level I: William Conrad, Lincoln; David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
- Level II: Cole Shank, Lincoln; Phantoms in the Snow by Kathleen Benner Duble
- Level III: Allie Thompson, Omaha; The Help by Kathryn Stockett
2011-2012 Winners
- Level I: Ethan Vanneman, Lincoln; The Legend of Bass Reeves by Gary Paulsen
- Level II: Marin Harrington, Omaha; The Help by Kathryn Stockett
- Level III: Arash Hamidi, Omaha; I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
2011-2012 Alternate Winners
- Level I: Taisha Morris, Omaha; My Dream of Martin Luther King by Faith Ringgold
- Level II: Tyson Hostert, O'Neill; Hatchet series by Gary Paulsen
- Level III: Maria Terrazas, Ansley; Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac
2010-2011 Winners
View the Proclamation,
which lists the Honorees [PDF]
- Level I: Grace Doll, Lincoln; My Antonia by Willa Cather
- Level II: Megan Brookhouser, Omaha; The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
- Level III: Arash Hamidi, Omaha; American-born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
2010-2011 Alternate Winners
- Level I: Frank Wickizer, Lincoln; The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
- Level II: Grace Cai, Omaha; Northern Lights (The Golden Compass), The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman
- Level III: Timarree Speer, Mason City; Annie’s Baby by Beatrice Sparks
2009-2010 Winners & Their Letters
- Level I: Haylie R. Roberts, Pender; Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan — Letter [pdf]
- Level II: Victoria Kolala, Omaha; Think Big by Ben Carson — Letter [pdf]
- Level III: Arash Hamidi, Omaha; Torn Between Two Cultures by Maryam Qudrat Aseel
- 2010 honorees (L. to R.) are Victoria Kolala, Megan Brookhouser, Mia Thomas, Gov. Dave Heineman, Arash Hamidi, and Haylie Roberts. Not pictured: Shawn Gasseling.
2009-2010 Alternate Winners & Their Letters
- Level I: Mia Thomas, Bellevue; Devil’s Arithmetic by Lois Lowry — Letter [pdf]
- Level II: Megan Brookhouser, Omaha; The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak — Letter [pdf]
- Level III: Shawn Gasseling, Alliance; A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini — Letter [pdf]
2008-2009 Winners & Their Letters
- Level I: Ashley Bowen, Bellevue; Dewey by Vicki Myron — Letter [pdf]
- Level II: Maggie Vinton, North Platte; Thirteen Little Blue Notes by Maureen Johnson — Letter [pdf]
- Level III: Drew Harsin, Blair; Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls — Letter [pdf]
2008-2009 Alternate Winners & Their Letters
- Level I: Chloe Schwarting, Bellevue; The Giver by Lois Lowry — Letter [pdf]
- Level II: Katie Cosman, North Platte; Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata — Letter [pdf]
- Level III: Kayleigh Doll, Blair; By the Light of the Moon by Dean Koontz — Letter [pdf]
2007-2008 Winners & Their Letters
- Level I: Ellen Friesen, Lincoln; Number the Stars by Lois Lowry — Letter [pdf]
- Level II: Itahi Sanchez, Lincoln; Please Hear What I’m Not Saying by Charles Finn — Letter [pdf]
- Level III: Andrew Squires, Lincoln; Prison Writings: My Life Is my Sun Dance by Leonard Peltier — Letter [pdf]
2007-2008 Alternate Winners & Their Letters
- Level I: Carol Fisher, North Platte; Eragon by Christopher Paolini — Letter [pdf]
- Level II: Wyatt Nelson, Lincoln; Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell — Letter [pdf]
- Level III: Amanda Ferguson, North Platte; Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank — Letter [pdf]
2006-2007 Winners & Their Letters
- Level I: Kassy Pepper, Bellevue — Letter [pdf] to Margaret Peterson Haddix
- Level II: Tayler Hough, Omaha — Letter [pdf] to Ann Martin
- Level III: Carrie Chen, Lincoln — Letter [pdf] to Louisa May Alcott
2006-2007 Alternate Winners & Their Letters
- Level I: Brooke Klebe, Lincoln — Letter [pdf] to Jeanne Birdsall
- Level II: Claire Wiebe, Lincoln — Letter [pdf] to J.R.R. Tolkein
- Level III: Katie Kutsenko, Lincoln — Letter [pdf] to Leo Tolstoy
2006-2007 Award of Merit Winner & Letter
- Lilyane Sanchez, Lincoln — Letter [pdf] to Harriet Beecher Stowe
2005-2006 Winners & Their Letters
- Level I: Connor Goecke, Omaha; The Giver by Lois Lowry — Letter [pdf]
- Level II: Ellen Muehling, Lincoln; A Rose for Melinda by Lurlene McDaniel — Letter [pdf]
- Level III: Sallie Dietrich, Lincoln; I Never Promised You a Rose Garden by Hannah Green — Letter [pdf]
2005-2006 Alternate Winners & Their Letters
- Level I: Julia Stanislav, Omaha; Number the Stars by Lois Lowry — Letter [pdf]
- Level II: Melissa West, Omaha; Hawksong by Amelia Atwater Rhodes — Letter [pdf]
- Level III: Cody Sedlacek, North Platte; Woodsong by Gary Paulson — Letter [pdf]
2004-2005 Winners & Their Letters
- Level I: Fiona Loggie, Omaha — Letter [pdf]
- Level II: Elizabeth Milan, Herman — Letter [pdf]
- Level III: Alexander J. Lin, Lincoln — Letter [pdf]
2004-2005 Alternate Winners & Their Letters
- Level I: Alex Totusek, Omaha — Letter [pdf]
- Level II: Amanda Wall, Henderson — Letter [pdf]
- Level III: John Welch, Hastings — Letter [pdf]
2003-2004 Winners & Their Letters
- Level I: Jackson Fisher, Lincoln; also National Winner — Letter [pdf]
- Level II: Molly Keran, Lincoln — Letter [pdf]
- Level III: Philip Thraikill, North Platte — Letter [pdf]
2003-2004 Alternate Winners & Their Letters
- Level I: Kelsey Springsguth, Saint Libory — Letter [pdf]
- Level II: Amber Hoffman, Omaha — Letter [pdf]
- Level III: Alexander J. Lin, Lincoln — Letter [pdf]