The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, in partnership with Target Stores and in cooperation with the South Carolina Center 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. Winners, announced in the spring of each year, receive cash awards at the national and state levels. For information contact the LAL Project Director at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . 

Also available is a Teacher's Guide (pdf).

For more information, visit the LAL Web Site.