In our effort to promote an appreciation of the written word in South Carolina, the South Carolina Center for the Book has initiated a number of projects that benefit libraries, schools, literary organizations, visitors to our state, and individual readers. In addition to our annual support to events such as the South Carolina Book Festival, the Center's projects include:
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 The South Carolina Center for the Book is proud to promote the River of Words Contest to South Carolina students, in partnership with the Library of Congress and the River of Words organization.
River of Words is a free, international poetry and art contest for youth on the theme of watersheds. The contest is designed to help youth explore the natural and cultural history of the place they live, and to express, through poetry and art, what they discover. The contest is open to any child in South Carolina (and the world!), from 5-19 years of age. Students may enter on their own or as part of a group (classroom, Scout troop, 4-H, etc.) The deadline for entries for the 2008 contest is February 15th, 2008. For more information about the contest and how to enter, please see the Web site at www.riverofwords.org. South Carolina student winners in each age category will be honored at a ceremony in Columbia, SC in late April.
For questions, please contact Susanna Brailsford at
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or see the Web site: www.riverofwords.org. |
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SC Center for the Book Awards |
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The SC Center for the Book Awards were formerly a single award known as the Palmetto Book Award. In 2008, the Palmetto Book Award has expanded to honor excellence in: - Writing: SC writer of any genre whose work has been published in the last year (2007)
- Teaching: SC teacher of the literary or language arts (at any level or type of school)
- Advocacy: SC person or organization that works to promote the literary arts and to foster a creative atmosphere in the state
The criteria for nominees are: - The nominee must be a living South Carolina resident or an active South Carolina organization.
- The nominee must be a published writer, a current teacher, or an active promoter of the literary arts in South Carolina, as described in a one page nomination letter.
Nominees for the 2008 Awards are due by March 25, 2008. |
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Each year the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress in partnership with Target Stores and in cooperation with affiliate state centers for the book, invites 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. There are three competition levels: Level I for children in grades 4 through 6; Level II for grades 7 and 8, and Level III, grades 9 - 12. In 2004, 38,000 young readers across the country wrote letters for the contest. Over 1,200 letters were submitted from South Carolina. National winners as well as state level winners receive cash prizes. To find out more about the program and how your school or individual child can get involved, please visit the contest website at http://www.loc.gov/loc/cfbook/letters.html. |
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The South Carolina Literary Map |
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A comprehensive guide to Palmetto State Writers - past and present, popular and unsung. The map's Web site features county-by-county listings of these writers, with biographical information and extensive bibliographies. The Literary Tour of South Carolina map is available at no charge at public libraries throughout the state or, by request, from the South Carolina State Library. |
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Speaker at the Center Lunchtime Programs |
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In Summer 2007, the SC Center for the Book initiated a Speaker at the Center lunchtime series. The SCCFTB will host at least one speaker per quarter to give a self-contained, one hour talk on the area of his or her academic expertise, latest publication, or other book-related topic of interest to the general population. The program is free and open to the public and attendees should feel free to bring a bag lunch. June 2007: Auhor BJ Welborn on the topic of her book, Traveling Literary America. This program was sponsored in part by The Humanities Council SC, a state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities; inspiring, engaging, and enriching South Carolinians with programs on literature, history, culture and heritage.
September 2007: Furman Professor Dr. Margaret J. Oakes on The Letters of Queen Elizabeth I: The Humility of Power. This program was sponsored in part by The Humanities Council SC, a state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities; inspiring, engaging, and enriching South Carolinians with programs on literature, history, culture and heritage. December 2007: Dr. Robert K. Ackerman, author of Wade Hampton III (University of South Carolina Press, 2007). Providing the most balanced and comprehensive portrayal of Wade Hampton III to date, Robert K. Ackerman's biography explores the remarkable abilities and tragic failings of the planter-statesman who would come to personify the Civil War and Reconstruction in South Carolina. January 2008: Dr. Andrew Billingsley, author of Yearning to Breathe Free: Robert Smalls of South Carolina and His Families (University of South Carolina Press, 2007). On May 13, 1862, the enslaved African American Robert Smalls commandeered a Confederate warship, the Planter, from Charleston harbor and piloted the vessel to cheering seamen of the Union blockade, thus securing his place in the annals of Civil War heroics. Slave, pilot, businessman, statesman, U.S. congressman, Smalls played many roles en route to becoming an American icon, but none of his accomplishments was a solo effort. Billingsley offers the first biography of Smalls to assess the influence of his families—black and white, past and present—on his life and enduring legend. |
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