Letters About Literature
- Nebraska Submission Platform - Open Oct. 1st - Dec. 31st
- Nebraska LAL Guidelines
- Spanish Nebraska LAL Guidelines
About
LAL is a state reading and writing promotion program. Letters About Literature is coordinated and sponsored in Nebraska by the Nebraska Center for the Book and the Nebraska Library Commission, with support from Houchen Bindery, Ltd., Humanities Nebraska, Nebraska Cultural Endowment, Lincoln City Libraries, Francie & Finch Bookshop, and Chapters Bookstore in Seward.
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. Each letter must be submitted via the Letters About Literature online platform for Nebraska.
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 9-12
One winner and honorable mention in each competition level will receive a cash prize. The prizes are presented during a recognition day in Lincoln, which includes a luncheon and a photograph with the Governor at the Capitol. The winners also sign copies of their letters at the Jane Pope Geske Heritage Room of Nebraska Authors at Bennett Martin Public Library, where they are placed in the Nebraska author archives.
Teaching Guide
The Letters About Literature Teaching Guide [pdf] provides activities teachers and librarians can use to guide their students through the book discussion and letter-writing process. The guide addresses the LAL teaching strategies and ways in which the program can dovetail with national standards for teaching reading and writing as well as Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Also included are worksheets for duplication and assessment checklists.
Webinar for Educators
October 1, 2025 - NCompass Live: Letters About Literature 2025 - Recorded Online Session. This session provides helpful information for teachers and librarians interested in the competition. It also covers the submission process and gave an excellent opportunity to ask questions about the entire competition process. Teachers will be interested in this program that will help enhance and extend their classroom instruction.
Past Winners
Listen to past winners (Ashley Xiques and
Sydney Kohl) read their letters on NET Radio’s “All about Books” podcasts.
Or read a letter from one of this year’s winners on page 3 of the Latino American Commission Spring 2016
Newsletter.
See a complete list of all past Nebraska winners on The Nebraska Center for the Book’s website at:
http://centerforthebook.nebraska.gov/programs/LAL.html.
The 2020 Letters About Literature Virtual Awards are available for viewing on the Nebraska Library Commission's YouTube channel. Unable to attend an in-person awards ceremony, 2020 winners and runners-up read their letters for friends and family in a virtual ceremony.
Reflective Writing Assessment
Reflective writing challenges students to consider how their personal experiences and observations shape their thinking an acceptance of new ideas. Use this Reflective Writing Assessment (from Catherine Gourley, National Letters About Literature Program Manager) to help students understand the difference between reflective writing and a book report.
FAQs
How can a library or school promote this program in their community? Host a Letter Writing Clinic! With or without special funding, this a great way to introduce students to the Letters About Literature contest and letter writing techniques.
Can a library participate by having the kids write the letters, we collect them, and we submit them together? Absolutely! Even though it does look like the form focuses on a “teacher” interaction, please just substitute “library staff” for “teacher” and move forward with the group submission process. Letters collected during the summer should be saved to be submitted when the contest opens in the Fall.
Where do submissions go? All submissions go to the Nebraska Center for the Book in Lincoln, NE. All submissions are read by two Nebraska Center for the Book judges. Each letter must be submitted via the Nebraska Letters About Literature online submission platform - Open Oct. 1st - Dec. 31st every year.
Is there a way for us to find out in the end who from our community participates? We would love for you to recognize each of the kids locally who submit a letter, whether they are selected or not as a winner. We are not sure if this is possible, due to confidentiality. We will ask the national team if they have any problem with us sharing the list when they send it to us—we’ll address this question by amending this FAQ, when we are clear on the answer. In the meantime, I would suggest that the librarians keep a copy of the entry coupons that they send to the national team. They would then have contact information—which can be difficult to access after the contest is closed.
How to Enter
Each letter must be submitted via the Letters About Literature online platform
for Nebraska.
For more information, contact Tessa Timperley for state-specific information and prize details.
2024-2025 Winners
2023-2024 Alternate Winners |
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2023-2024 Winners
2023-2024 Alternate Winners |
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2022-2023 Winners
2022-2023 Alternate Winners |
View the Proclamation,
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2021-2022 Winners
2021-2022 Alternate Winners |
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2020-2021 Winners
2020-2021 Alternate Winners |
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2018-2019 Winners
2018-2019 Alternate Winners
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View the Proclamation,
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2017-2018 Winners
2017-2018 Alternate Winners |
View the Proclamation,
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2016-2017 Winners
2016-2017 Alternate Winners |
View the Proclamation,
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2015-2016 Winners
2015-2016 Alternate Winners |
View the Proclamation,
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2014-2015 Winners
2014-2015 Alternate Winners |
View the Proclamation,
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Letters about Literature award winners at
the April 9, 2014, proclamation-signing
ceremony: (l-r) Thomas D'Aquila, Elkhorn; Christopher Penas-Hull,
Lincoln; Sydney Kohl, Lincoln; Gov. Dave Heineman; Brianna Wilson,
Big Springs; Madeline Walker, Lincoln; and Nebraska Library
Commission Director Rod Wagner. Not pictured: Wyatt Liewer, O'Neill.
View the Proclamation,
which lists the Honorees [PDF]
2013-2014 Winners
- Level I: Christopher Penas-Hull, Lincoln; 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
Level II: Sydney Kohl, Lincoln; A Fire in My Hand by Gary Soto
Listen to her read her submission on NET Nebraska Radio's All About Books.
Level III: Brianna Wilson, Big Springs; You Get So Alone at Times That It Just Makes Sense by Charles Bukowski
2013-2014 Alternate Winners
- Level I: Madeline Walker, Lincoln; Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper
Level II: Wyatt Liewer, O'Neill; Brian's Hunt by Gary Paulsen
Level III: Thomas D'Aquila, Elkhorn; Maus by Art Spiegelman
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.
View the Proclamation,
which lists the Honorees [PDF]
2012-2013 Winners
- 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 Singsby 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]