INDIANAPOLIS - Letters About Literature, a national reading-writing contest for students in grades 4-12, named 128 students from Indiana as national contest semifinalists. Of the 128 students, state judges selected nine to receive top state honors for the 2008 competition.
Letters About Literature is sponsored by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, in partnership with Target Stores, and is administered statewide by the Indiana Center for the Book. To enter, students in grades 4-12 wrote a personal letter to an author, explaining how his or her work changed their view of the world or themselves.
"These young people should be proud to be included in the top 9% of nearly 59,000 Letters About Literature entrants nationwide," said Roberta Brooker, Indiana State Librarian. "After reading the essays and meeting many of the entrants, it's easy to see why these young Hoosiers are among Indiana's best and brightest."
The Indiana Center for the Book, a program of the Indiana State Library, recognized 119 semifinalists and nine finalists in an awards ceremony held at the Indiana State Library on Saturday. A record 325 students, family and friends attended the ceremony which was headlined by Margaret McMullan - an award-winning young adult author and University of Evansville English Professor. The event commenced the State Library's National Library Week celebration, which runs from April 13 through April 19.
The nine finalists, including the author to which they wrote, are as follows:
Level I (grades 4-6)
1st place - Emma Alexander, Columbus. (Robert Frost, author of "The Road Not Taken")
2nd place - Molly Hass, Peru. (Gary Paulson, author of The Hatchet)
3rd place - Sarah Hondmann. Evansville. (Phillip Pullman author of The Amber Spyglass)
Level II (grades 7-8)
1st place - Matthew Voorhees, Battle Ground. (Ben Mikaelsen, author of Touching Spirit Bear)
2nd place - Alyssa Ann Cheng, West Lafayette. (Adeline Yen Mah, author of Chinese Cinderella)
3rd place - Alex Pijanowski, Battle Ground, (Charles Dickens, author of Great Expectations)
Level III (grades 9-12)
1st place - Yasamin Oloomi, Fort Wayne. (Azadeh Moareni, author of Lipstick Jihad)
2nd place - Adam Brown, Gary. (Richard Wright, author of Black Boy)
3rd place - Sabrina Glasgow of Union Mills. (Laurie Halse Anderson, author of Twisted)
First place winners received $100 and a $50 Target GiftCard. Second place winners received $75. Third place winners received $50. All finalists also received plaques and personalized bookmarks. All finalist and semifinalists received an award certificate, a frameable copy of their letter, and a copy of Margaret McMullan's award-winning young adult book, How I Found the Strong. In addition, students in attendance on Saturday had an opportunity meet Professor McMullan during an exclusive book signing following the awards ceremony at the Indiana State Library.
"The State Library was thrilled to kick-off our National Library Week celebration with Margaret McMullan and the hundreds of students and proud parents who joined us on Saturday," said Brooker. "Letters About Literature is an exciting and educational program for everyone involved and that sentiment was reflected during the awards ceremony."
For more information about Letters about Literature, including photographs and winning entries from the 2008 awards ceremony, visit the Indiana Center for the Book's website.
About the National Center for the Book:
The Center for the Book was established in 1977 as a public-private partnership to use the resources of the Library of Congress to stimulate public interest in books and reading. For information about its activities and national reading promotion networks, visit www.loc.gov/cfbook.
About Target:
Target sponsors Letters About Literature as part of its national reading initiative, "Ready. Sit. Read!," which is aimed at fostering a love of reading among children at an early age. Since opening its first store in 1962, Target has partnered with nonprofit organizations, guests and team members to help meet community needs.
About the Indiana State Library:
The State Library, located in downtown Indianapolis, provides library services to state government; offers specialized library services for the people of the state; supports the Indiana library profession; and strengthens services of all libraries.
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