Public Information and Communication
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 12, 2007
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Mary Jo Ryan
402-471-3434
800-307-2665
Young
Nebraskans Win State Writing Contest
Governor Dave Heineman honored Nebraska student writers by
presenting them with Letters about Literature award certificates and signing a
proclamation proclaiming April 15-21, 2007 as National Library Week in Nebraska.
Students recognized for their letters to influential authors were:
Winners
Kassy Pepper, of Bellevue, for a letter to Margaret
Peterson Haddix
Tayler Hough, of Omaha, for
a letter to Ann Martin
Carrie Chen, of Lincoln, for a letter to Louisa May Alcott
Runners-Up
Brooke Klebe, of Lincoln,
for a letter to Jeanne Birdsall
Claire Wiebe, of Lincoln,
for a letter to J.R.R. Tolkein
Katie Kutsenko, of Lincoln, for a letter to Leo Tolstoy
Award of Merit
Lilyane Sanchez, of Lincoln, for a letter to Harriet
Beecher Stowe
Approximately 56,000 young readers across the country
participated in this year's Letters about Literature competition, a reading
promotion program of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress,
presented in partnership with Target Stores. In Nebraska the contest is
coordinated by the Nebraska Library Commission and the Nebraska Center for the
Book, with additional support from Lee Booksellers and Houchen Bindery Ltd.
To enter, young readers write a personal letter to an
author explaining how his or her work changed their view of the world or
themselves. Readers select authors from any genre-fiction or nonfiction,
contemporary or classic. The program has three competition levels: upper
elementary, middle school, and secondary. The contest theme encourages young
readers to explore his or her personal response to a book then express that
response in a creative, original way.
Nebraska finalists each receive cash prizes, gift cards to Target Stores and Lee
Booksellers.
###
Nebraska Center for
the Book is housed at the Nebraska Library Commission and brings together the
state's readers, writers, booksellers, librarians, publishers, printers,
educators, and scholars to build the community of the book, supporting
programs to celebrate and stimulate public interest in books, reading, and the
written word. The Nebraska Center for the Book is supported by the Nebraska
Library Commission.