TEACHERS: Please scroll down to the teacher's note at the bottom of this page!  You can also download the

 ENTRY GUIDELINES for class distribution.

To our young readers:

Books have wings. You can’t see them, but they are there just the same. On books’ wings, readers can soar to new places where they meet intriguing characters and experience exciting adventures. But a book’s wings can also help a reader rise above difficult situations — like peer pressure, bullying or prejudice, or to cope with disappointment and loss.

Have you ever felt the power and lift of literature? Has one book — or perhaps one author — inspired you to change your view of yourself or your world? If so, we encourage you to enter this year’s Letters About Literature writing competition. All you have to do is write a personal letter to an author, explaining how his or her work affected you.

HOW TO ENTER

Before you can enter, you have to write the letter. And before you can write the letter, you've got to think about how YOU responded to the book.

First, reflect and connect!

Select a fiction or nonfiction book, a short story, poem, essay or speech (sorry, no song lyrics) you have read and about which you have strong feelings. Explore those feelings and why you reacted the way you did during or after reading the author’s work. Consider one or more of these questions when writing your letter:

• Did the characters, conflict or setting mirror your life in some way?
• What strengths or flaws do you share with a character or characters in the book?
• What did the book show you about your world that you never noticed before?
• What surprised you about yourself while you were reading this book?
• Why was this work meaningful to you?
• As  you were reading, what did you remember about yourself or something you experienced in the past?
• How did the book's characters or theme help you to understand that past experience?

Your letter need not -- and in fact, should not -- answer every one of the questions above. The questions are just prewriting prompts to get you to start reflecting (or thinking) about your reader's response to the book. 

Second, write a personal letter (not a fan letter or a book report!)

Express yourself! A letter is less formal than an essay or research paper. Write honestly and in your own voice, as if you were having a conversation with the author. Those are the best letters to read and the most fun to write! Keep in mind these two tips:

• Correspond, don’t compliment! Your entry should inform rather than flatter the author.

• Do not summarize the book’s plot! The author wrote the book and already knows what happened. What the author doesn’t know is how the book affected you.

Third, prepare your letter for submission.

• Entries for Level 1 should be no less than 100 words and no more than 400 words.*

• Entries for Level 2 should be no less than 300 words and no more than 600 words.*

• Entries for Level 3 should be no less than 500 words and no more than 800 words.*

*Recommended lengths.

Please refer to the Contest Entry Guidelines in Rules #4 of the Official Rules found at www.loc.gov/letters for complete information on how to prepare your letter.

HOW WILL THE LAL JUDGES ASSESS YOUR LETTER?

All entries will be judged on the following criteria:

• Exposition (the writer’s use of language skills, organization and grammar).

• Content (the writer’s achievement in addressing the contest theme).

• Writer’s Voice (the writer’s style and originality of expression).

Each criteria will be scored on a scale of zero (0) to five (5), where five (5) is excellent and zero (0) is not fulfilling the judging criteria.

STATE AND NATIONAL AWARDS

LAL 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 a $50 Target Gift Cards and additional prizes, and then advance to the National Level Judging.

On each competition level, a panel of national judges for the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress will select six (6) National Winners (2 per Level of Competition) and twelve (12) National Honorable Mention Winners (4 per Level of Competition). The National Winners will receive a $500 Target GiftCard, plus each will secure a $10,000 LAL Reading Promotion Grant in his/her name for a community or school library so that others can experience personal relationships with authors and the stories they tell.  The National Honorable Mention Winners will each receive a $100 Target GiftCard, plus each will secure a $1,000 LAL Reading Promotion Grant in their name for his or her community or school library. The community or school library selected for the National Winners and National Honorable Mention Winners is at the Sponsor’s sole discretion. Refer to the National Level Judging in the Official Rules for more details.

TEACHERS, PLEASE NOTE!!

• Please do not assign the same book to an entire class as this misses the spirit of the program — identifying a personal relationship with an author and/or book. Likewise, rather than assigning the same opening paragraph or topic sentences, encourage students to express themselves individually.

• Mail class sets in one flat envelope rather than submitting letters letters individually. When mailing class sets, please include a list of names of individuals whose letters are enclosed. IN ADDITION, please ensure that EACH LETTER HAS ITS OWN ENTRY COUPON. Do not submit one entry coupon for an entire class, because letters are separated from their class sets during the various rounds of assessment.

• Although we cannot acknowledge receipt of letters, we LOVE your cover letters. Your feedback is critical for our program's effectiveness as well as testimony for our funders. Additionally, a cover letter is a great way to ensure that you are put on the LAL mail list for next year.

• OWNERSHIP. All letters become the property of the Center for the Book in the Library of  Congress. Please make a copy of your entry as no letters will be returned.

• NOTIFICATION. We regret that we cannot contact every participant who enters. However, an accurate E-MAIL ADDRESS will help us keep in contact with you. Please refer to the www.loc.gov/letters website for program updates throughout the year as well as a note regarding our privacy policy! State Centers for the Book will notify state winners on or about 3/30/2011. The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress will notify National Winner and National Honorable Honors Winners by May 1, 2011.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. A Purchase will not enhance your chances of winning. MANY WILL ENTER, FEW WILL WIN. Open to Legal Residents of the 50 U.S. & D.C. enrolled as a student in grades 4–12 during 2010/2011 school year, 9 years of age or older as of 9/1/09. Contest Starts 9/1/10 and ends 12/22/10. See below for entry information. Void where prohibited. Subject to Official Rules.

HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR LETTER 

• RETURN ADDRESS. Print your name and complete return address (either home or school) in the upper right corner of the first page of your letter. Letters without a return address and adequate contact information will be disqualified.

• ENTRY COUPON. Each letter must be accompanied by an entry coupon (below). Staple the coupon to the last page of your letter. Should you win a state or a national prize, your State Center for the Book will contact you using this information, so be sure your coupon is complete and legible!

• MAILING ENVELOPE. Entries should be mailed in a flat 9x11" envelope or smaller. Important! Indicate the competition level — either 1, 2 or 3 — on your envelope. Your Entry must be postmarked December 10, 2010, (and arrive in the mail no later than December 22, 2010).  

MAIL TO:

Letters About Literature

Competition Level  (Indicate level 1, 2, or 3)

P.O. Box 609

Dallas, PA 18612

* * * * * *

You can use the entry coupon below or download the

OFFICIAL ENTRY GUIDELINES. 

PLEASE PRINT. Often our failure to contact you is due to incomplete or illegible information on the entry coupon, especially your teacher’s e-mail address.

STAPLE THIS ENTRY COUPON TO THE BACK OF EACH LETTER. Use one coupon per reader, rather than one coupon for the entire class.

CONTACT INFORMATION. If entering through a school or library, provide your teacher or librarian's name as contact. You do not need to supply home information unless you are entering individually (not through a school or library).

Name:

_______________________________________________

Age: ______

Home Phone (optional): (_____) ____________________

Grade (circle one grade only):

Level I:  4  5  6

Level II:  7  8

Level III:  9  10  11  12

Book/Story Title:

______________________________________________

Author:

_______________________________________________

Home Address is required only if you submit your letter individually and NOT through a teacher/school.

Street:

_______________________________________________

City:

_______________________________________________

School or Library Address 

IMPORTANT! If submitting through a school or library, please complete the additional information below:

School/Library:

______________________________________________________________________________

Street:

_______________________________________________

City:

_______________________________________________

State: ____________              Zip Code _____________

School/Library Telephone:

(________)     __________________________________

School/Library E-mail:

_______________________________________________

Teacher/Librarian Contact Name (required):

_______________________________________________

Teacher E-mail:

_______________________________________________

• DID YOU SIGN YOUR LETTER?
• DID YOU INCLUDE A RETURN ADDRESS ON YOUR LETTER? IF YOU DON'T TELL US HOW TO GET IN TOUCH WITH YOU, WE CAN'T TELL YOU IF YOU WON!
• CAN WE READ YOUR HANDWRITING ON THE ENTRY COUPON? Again, if we can't read your address or email, we can't contact you!