Letters about Literature

Author Roald Dahl said that writing a book was like taking a journey. You knew where you wanted to go but you didn't always know who you might meet or what you might experience along the way. Reading a book is also a journey. Where has a book taken you?

Have you wondered with J.D. Salinger through the lonely streets in NYC? Did you travel back in time with Stephen Crane to crouch on a Civil War battlefield and understand, perhaps for the first time, fear? Maybe you stopped in the woods on a snowy evening with Robert Frost. Maybe your favorite voyage was to a fantastic place that exists only between the pages of a book--Hogwarts, Middle Earth or a future society where books are burned at 451 degrees Fahrenheit!

LAL welcomes entries from all readers--reluctant as well as enthusiastic book travelers! How can you enter? Select a book that took you on a surprising or inspiring journey. It might be a recent journey or one you remember from your childhood. Then write a personal letter to the author, explaining how his or her work somehow changed your view of the world or yourself.

Do not summarize the book's plot, but rather how the book affected you. Write honestly and in your own voice, as if you were having a conversation with the author. Send all entries postmarked no later than December 8, 2006 to:

LAL 2007
Competition Level (Indicate I, II, or III)
P.O. Box 609
Dallas, PA 18612

Entry Level are as follows:
Level I--Grades 4-6--100-400 words
Level II--Grades 7 and 8--300-600 words
Level III--Grades 9-12--500-800 words

Each entry must be accompanied by an entry coupon available at http://www.loc.gov/loc/cfbook/letters.html
Staple the coupon to the last page of your letter. Level winners will be chosen from each state with the first-place winners receiving a $50 Target gift card and entrance into the national competition for a chance to win an additional $500 Target gift card.