TASL members, the Library of Congress announces its Letters About Literature contest for 2008 co-sponsored nationally with Target. In Texas the contest is sponsored by TASL and the Texas Center for the Book. 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. State winners, announced in the spring of each year receive $100 in cash and a $50 Target gift card, and a free trip to TLA in Houston where they will read their letters before the TASL business meeting. There are also national prizes. For an application go to the Library of Congress website: http://www.loc.gov/loc/cfbook/letters.

For detailed information and teaching consult www.lettersaboutliterature.org. For information about the contest in Texas go to www.dallaslibrary.org/tcbintro.htm. Winning Texas letters from previous years are also posted on this site as well as the entry coupon.. An entry coupon must be attached to each entry. Deadline for entries this year is December 6, 2008. For information contact Texas Center for the Book at 214-670-7808.

Jackie Chetzron, Contributor
(Originally posted TASL listserv)