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Funding for this project is provided by the Library Services and Technology Act administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the West Virginia Library Commission.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

YOUNG READERS INVITED TO ENTER LIBRARY OF CONGRESS WRITING CONTEST, LETTERS ABOUT LITERATURE

State Winners Will Advance for National Competition

September 8, 2004

Contact: Karen Goff, Coordinator
Center for the Book
Phone: 304-558-3978

Charleston, West Virginia-- Write a letter to your favorite author, and you might win an expenses-paid trip to Washington, D. C. for yourself, your parents, and your teacher!
The trip to our nation’s capital is the national prize in Letters about Literature, a 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. To enter, readers write a personal letter to an author, explaining how his or her work changed their view of the world or themselves. Young readers can select authors from any genre—fiction or nonfiction, contemporary or classic.
    The West Virginia Center for the Book will select the top essayists in the state on each of the 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.
    Deadline for entries is December 4, 2004. To obtain the required entry coupon, call the West Virginia Center for the Book at 304-558-3978 or visit the Center for the Book Web site at loc.gov/letters.
State winners advance to national competition and receive cash prizes plus a $50 Target gift card. The West Virginia Humanities Council will also award cash prizes for the top two competitors in each level.
    Six national winners will each receive an expenses-paid trip to the nation’s capital to read their letters during the National Book Festival in the fall of 2005. In addition, they will receive a $500 Target gift card redeemable at any Target Store or target.com. Target Stores is the presenting sponsor of Letters About Literature.
    Teachers, librarians, or parents interested in obtaining copies of the contest guidelines and the 16-page teaching supplement to guide students through the reading-writing process should visit the Center for the Book Web site at loc.gov/letters.
    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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For More Information Contact:

West Virginia Center for the Book
1900 Kanawha Blvd. E., Cultural Center, Charleston, West Virginia 25305
Tel: 304-558-3978
FAX: 304-558-1612
Internet: goffk@wvlc.lib.wv.us