Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White is urging students in grades 4–10 to enter the 2013 Letters About Literature (LAL) contest, a national reading and writing competition.

“Every year thousands of students in Illinois enjoy participating in this inspiring competition,” White said. “Illinois has had more entries than any other state for five years in a row. I encourage all of our students to take part in Letters About Literature, and I hope their participation leads to a lifetime love of reading.”

Participating students read a book and write letters to the authors, living or deceased, describing how that book positively impacted their life. The contest is sponsored by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, in cooperation with the Illinois Center for the Book. State winners’ letters are forwarded for judging at the national level.

The deadline to enter the competition is January 11, 2013. State winners will be announced in April 2013.

2012 Letters About Literature Winners: (from L to R):
Nadeen Shaban, Ben Gachpar, and Kate Wardenburg

For more information about the competition, contact Bonnie Matheis at 217-558-2065 or bmatheis@ilsos.net. More information can also be found at http://illinoiscenterforthebook.org.