From the Indiana State Library’s blog:

Letters About Literature is a national reading-writing contest for readers in grades 4 through 12 sponsored by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress in partnership with Target Stores. The contest, which focuses on reader response and reflective writing, has three competition levels: Level 1 for students in grades 4-6; Level 2 for students in grades 7 and 8; and Level 3 for students in grades 9-12.

National Program Director, Catherine Gourley, explains the value of this contest: “Students who read, write better; students who write, read more. Research supports this reading-writing link. Letters About Literature fosters this link as well as personal reader response.”

To enter, readers write a personal letter to an author, explaining how his or her work changed their view of the world or themselves. Deadline for entries is December 8, 2006.

The Indiana Center for the Book, a program of the Indiana State Library and an affiliate of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, manages the Indiana portion of the contest and provides cash awards to state winners. The writer of the first place letter for each level also receives a Target GiftCard and advances to the national competition.

For additional information or to obtain official contest guidelines with entry coupon, teacher’s guide, or chart correlating the contest to national language arts and reading standards, contact the Indiana Center for the Book or by phone at (317) 232-3699.

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.

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 http://www.loc.gov/cfbook.