[Tasl] Tennessee Students Eligible for Letters about Literature Contest

[Emily Masters]

Contact:           

Emily Masters

Director, Tennessee Young Writers Programs

Humanities Tennessee

615.770.0006x15

emily at humanitiestennessee.org

www.humanitiestennessee.org

 

Students in grades 4-12 are invited to enter Letters about Literature
2009, a national reading and writing promotion program sponsored by
Humanities Tennessee in conjunction with the Center for the Book in the
Library of Congress and Target. The contest deadline is December 6,
2008.

 

The contest invites students to write letters to authors-living or
dead-explaining how their works affected them personally. The contest
has three competition levels. Level 1 is open to readers in grades 4-6;
Level 2 is open to readers in grades 7-8; Level 3 is open to readers in
grades 9-12.  

 

At the state level, the top essayist from each competition level will
receive a $100 cash award and a $50 Target GiftCard. Additionally, the
1st-place winner from Level 3 will receive a full scholarship to attend
the Tennessee Young Writers' Workshop for the summer of 2009. The
weeklong workshop is an intensive writing experience for high school
students, held each summer by Humanities Tennessee. The 2nd-place winner
from each level will receive a $50 cash award, and the 3rd-place winner
from each level will receive a $25 cash award.  

 

The 1st-place winners from each level will then advance for national
judging. Six national 

winners (two from each level) will each receive a $500 Target GiftCard
for personal use and a $10,000 LAL Reading Promotion Grant for his or
her community or school library.  

 

This year's esteemed panel of judges includes noted children's authors
Patricia and Fredrick McKissack and Director of the Center for
Appalachian Studies and Services Dr. Roberta T. Herrin.

 

Classroom teachers are encouraged to promote this contest to their
students as class or individual projects. An official entry coupon must
accompany each letter. Specific guidelines and entry coupons are
available at www.humanitiestennessee.org/youngwriters/letters.php.  For
further information, contact Emily Masters at
emily at humanitiestennessee.org or 615.770.0006x15.

            

Humanities Tennessee is a not-for-profit organization that provides
public education in the humanities for all Tennesseans. Among the
opportunities available statewide are grants for humanities projects to
non-profit organizations, the Southern Festival of Books: A Celebration
of the Written Word, and annual awards for outstanding teaching of the
humanities. For more information about Humanities Tennessee and its
programs, please visit www.humanitiestennessee.org.