Writing Contest
Call for Student Entries! (Deadline is December 12, 2009.)
Rhode Island Center for the Book at Providence Public Library Invites Rhode Island Students to Enter Reading & Writing Contest: Letters About Literature, 2010
PROVIDENCE, RI — The Rhode Island Center for the Book at Providence Public Library invites all Rhode Island students in grades 4 – 12 to enter the national Letters About Literature contest with a national prize of a $10,000 grant for their local school or community library, thanks to the contest’s national sponsor: Target.
To enter Letters About Literature (LAL), young readers write a personal letter to a favorite author, describing the impact of the author’s book on his or her life or explaining how the book helped them see an aspect of the world—large or small—through new eyes. The books can be from any genre—fiction or nonfiction, contemporary or classic. By encouraging personal reader response and reflective writing, LAL encourages meaningful reading and helps to create and celebrate successful writers.
Each year, LAL awards more than 150 state-level prizes. Top Rhode Island entries will receive a gift certificate to a local book store and a $50 Target gift card. Additionally, the program selects six national winners, each of whom will earn for their community or school library a $10,000 Letters About Literature Reading Promotion Grant. Twelve national honorable mention winners will each earn for the community or school library of their choice a $1,000 grant. This year’s deadline is December 12, 2009.
Rhode Island students have been very successful in this contest over the past six years, with three National Winners and three National Honorable Mentions since 2003. This year brings another opportunity for teachers, parents and librarians statewide to help their students gain state and national recognition for their writing. State winners and semifinalist letters from the past are posted on the RI Center for the Book website at www.ribook.org.
Teachers and librarians can download the directions for entering and the guidelines from the LAL Website, www.lettersaboutliterature.org. Teaching materials, including lessons plans, writing samples, and assessment checklists, are also available at this site. Letters About Literature supports national standards for teaching language arts & reading as recommended by the National Council of Teachers of English and the International Reading Association. A link to the website is on the RI Center for the Book’s website: ribook.org
Letters About Literature – 2010 is a project of the Rhode Island Center for the Book at Providence Public Library. Through a variety of programs and events, the Center promotes a passion for books among readers of all ages and backgrounds across Rhode Island. The Library of Congress 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.
Target Stores, along with its parent company Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT), gives back more than $2 million a week to its local communities through grants and special programs. Since opening its first store in 1962, Target has partnered with nonprofit organizations, guests and team members to help meet community needs.
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Tonia Mason
Marketing & Communications Director
Providence Public Library
150 Empire Street
Providence, RI 02903
Phone: 401-455-8090
Fax: 401-455-8001
Email: tmason@provlib.org
www.provlib.org or www.thelibraryonline.org
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