Letters About Literature 2018 open for submissions from young readers

AUSTIN — Has a book brought you to laughter or tears, or changed your life? Write a letter to the author.

Letters About Literature is a reading/writing contest for fourth through twelfth graders under the direction of the Library of Congress. Texas submissions for the 2018–19 contest are due to the new online submission platform by December 14, 2018. A permission form is required for all students under the age of 13 on November 1, 2018.

Tens of thousands of students from across the country enter Letters About Literature each year. State winners receive $100 and a trip to the Texas Library Association Conference. National winners receive $2,000 and travel assistance to Washington D.C. for a special awards ceremony.

How to enter

There are three categories for contestants:

Level 1 — Grades 4-6

Level 2 — Grades 7-8

Level 3 — Grades 9-12

Read: Select a fiction or nonfiction book, a poem or play you have read that you feel strongly about. It might be a book that helped you through a difficult time, or it might be a book that simply touched your heart or inspired you.

Reflect: Think before you write. How did this author’s work change you or your view of the world? How and why are you different now than you were before you read this work?

Persuade:  Write a personal letter to the author stating how reading his or her work changed you. Be personal and persuasive! Support your ideas with specific details, including details from the work itself. This is not a fan letter, but rather a reflection on how an author influenced you.

Write: Type your entry in letter format. All submitted letters must be typed.

Submit: Upload your letter to the online submission platform. Be sure to read the submission steps and official rules from the Library of Congress here: http://read.gov/letters/

For more information, visit The Texas Center for the Book at www.tsl.texas.gov/lettersaboutliterature

(Information from program’s website)

Writespace to offer emerging writer fellowships

HOUSTON — According to Writespace Houston’s website, as part of their ongoing commitment to encourage and support exciting new voices, in 2019 Writespace will award Emerging Writer Fellowships to two exceptionally talented writers selected from the Houston community.

Both published and unpublished writers are welcome to apply. Special consideration will be given to outstanding candidates from historically underrepresented populations. Applicants must live within sixty miles of Writespace and provide proof of demonstrated financial need.

Emerging Writer Fellowship Prize

Over the course of one year, each recipient of the Writespace Emerging Writer Fellowship will be eligible to receive at no cost:

• Four multi-week Writespace workshops (four to ten sessions each)

• Six one-day Writespace workshops

• Seven-day pass to Writefest, Writespace’s flagship literary festival

• Four consultation sessions with Writespace director Elizabeth White-Olsen or Writespace associate director Cassandra Rose Clarke (optional)

• One Writespace membership

The application portal opens December 15, 2018. Applications are due by Monday, January 21, 2019. An information and Q&A session will be held at Writespace Saturday, January 19, 2019, from 2 to 3 p.m. Applicants will be notified of their status by Friday, February 1, 2019.  The Emerging Writers Fellows will be announced on social media in early February.

For more information, visit the Writespace website at www.writespacehouston.org/fellowships.html

(Information from organization’s press release)