The South Carolina Center for the Book is proud to sponsor two student writing contests in partnership with the Library of Congress.

South Carolina has participated in the Letters About Literature competition since 2001. A national reading-writing contest for students in grades 4-12, Letters About Literature invites readers to write a personal letter to an author, living or dead, from any genre, describing how that author’s work changed their way of thinking about their world or themselves. There are three competition levels: Level I for students in grades 4-6, Level II for grades 7 and 8, and Level III for grades 9-12. National winners as well as state level winners in each level receive cash prizes.

The deadline for entries to Letters About Literature is December 8, 2006. For more information, please see the Participation Guidelines here or contact Jane Connor at 803-734-8658.

The South Carolina Center for the Book is also happy 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 2007 contest is February 15th, 2007. 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.