About Letters about Literature

The Center for the Book in partnership with Target Stores invited 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.

Frequently Asked Questions

The 2009 contest deadline is December 6, 2008. The judging process takes six to eight weeks. State semi-finalists are notified in April.

Congratulations to our RI 2008 Letters about Literature Winners!

Level I State Winner & Honorable Mention

State Winner

Julia Zubiago, Grade 6, East Greenwich
Letter to J. K. Rowling,, author of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)

State Honorable Mention

Andrew Miner, Grade 6, East Greenwich
(Letter to Derek Jeter author of The Life You Imagine)

View all Level I Finalists and Semi-finalists

Level II State Winner & Honorable Mention

State Winner

Nolan McHale-Rossi, Grade 8, Barrington Middle School, Barrington
(Letter to Mary Roach), author of Stiff)

State Honorable Mention

Sam Karlin, Grade 8, Barrington Middle School, Barrington
(Letter to Mark Haddon, author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time)

View all Level II Finalists and Semi-finalists

Level III State Winner & Honorable Mentions

State Winner & one of 12 National Honorable Mentions

Gabrielle Sclafani, Grade 10, Barrington High School, Barrington
(Letter to Wally Lamb, author of She's Come Undone

State Honorable Mentions

Krista Hoffman, Grade 9, LaSalle Academy, Providence
Letter to Johnny Ray Ryder Jr., author of the poem"The Oak Tree"

Sullivan Roberts, Grade 12, Individual entry, North Kingstown
Letter to Tim O'Brien, author of The Things They Carried

Sophia Wright, Grade 11, Individual entry, Cranston
Letter to Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love

View all Level III Finalists and Semi-finalists

Letters About Literature Archive

Contact

For additional information about the Rhode Island Center for the Book, contact Providence Public Library Community Services Coordinator, Louise Moulton, at 455-8134 or email ribook@provlib.org.