Donna – Alabama Center for the Book | The University of Alabama

Letters About Literature National Contest Ends

July 15th, 2019
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After 27 years, the Letters About Literature national reading and writing contest, co-sponsored by the Library of Congress and the state centers for the book, will end with the conclusion of the 2019 program.

The Library of Congress has decided to step away from the administration of the program and give the state centers full control of the Letters About Literature program.

At its peak, more than 70,000 students entered their letters each year and wrote about how books changed their lives for the better. More than 1 million students in grades 4-12 were touched over the life span of the contest.

“Due to the short notice, The Alabama Center for the Book has made the difficult decision not to continue the program this fall, but will look at reinstating the program or a similar program in the future,” said Donna Adcock, director.

“I have had the privilege of working with many students, teachers and parents during the past 10 years.

“Meeting the students, their teachers and families at the Alabama Letters About Literature Awards Ceremony is always a highlight of the year.”

More than 200 Alabama students entered the national contest this past year.

The Alabama Center for the Book has been housed in the University Libraries at The University of Alabama since 2010. The Center supports reading, literacy and other book-related activities in Alabama and promotes appreciation of regional writers. The Center is a founding co-sponsor of the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame.

Children’s Book by Kerry Madden-Lunsford selected to be featured at the 2019 National Book Festival

July 8th, 2019
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Alabama Center for the Book has selected “Ernestine’s Milky Way” by Alabama author Kerry Madden-Lunsford to be featured at its booth at the 19th National Book Festival . Located in the Pavilion of States, the booth celebrates the Library of Congress’ “Discover Great Places Through Reading” program.

The book festival will be held Saturday, August 31, 2019, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.

The Library of Congress National Book Festival is an annual literary event that brings together best-selling authors and thousands of book fans for author talks, panel discussions, book signings and other activities.

“Ernestine’s Milky Way” is an empowering picture book set in the 1940s about a determined five-year-old girl who embarks on a journey to deliver milk to her neighbors in the holler. The book is for children ages three to seven.

“The inspiration for ‘Ernestine’s Milky Way’ was my real mountain friend, Ernestine Edwards Upchurch,” said Madden-Lunsford.

“She was a social worker, a historian, the literary matriarch of the mountains, and a great storyteller. She had a bright burning curiosity about people and she read everything. Her house was full of books and she championed new authors and supported established authors. She loved kids and wanted them reading and telling stories too.

“After she told me about carrying milk through the mountains as a child, the title popped into my head when I looked up at the sky and saw the Milky Way and I thought – ‘Ernestine’s Milky Way.’ Somebody should write a story. Then I realized a few years later that somebody was going to have to be me, and I’m so grateful for Emily Sutton’s illustrations that brought the story to life.”

Madden-Lunsford’s first novel, “Offsides,” was a New York Public Library Pick for the Teen Age. Her book, “Up Close Harper Lee,” made Booklist’s Ten Top Biographies of 2009 for Youth. She has written plays, screenplays, articles and books. She turned to writing children’s literature with her award-winning and well-reviewed Maggie Valley Trilogy.

Madden-Lunsford directs the Creative Writing Program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and teaches in the Antioch MFA Program in Los Angeles. The mother of three adult children, she divides her time between Birmingham and Los Angeles.

Every year, a list of books representing the literary heritage of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, is distributed by the Library of Congress’s Center for the Book during the National Book Festival. Each book is selected by a Center for the Book state affiliate or state library and most are for children and young readers. Books may be written by authors from the state, take place in the state, or celebrate the state’s culture and heritage.

The Alabama Center for the Book supports reading, literacy and other book-related activities in Alabama as well as promotes appreciation of regional writers. The Center is a founding co-sponsor of the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame.

The Library of Congress’ Center for the Book, established by Congress in 1977 to stimulate public interest in books and reading, is a national force for reading and literacy promotion. A public-private partnership, its sponsors educational programs that reach readers of all ages through its affiliated state centers, collaborations with nonprofit reading-promotion partners and through its Poetry and Literature Center at the Library of Congress. For more information, visit Read.gov.

Library of Congress Announces Reading-Writing Competition Winners

July 2nd, 2019
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Letters About Literature, a Library of Congress national writing competition, has announced its winners for 2019. The national program, concluding its 27th year, asks students in grades 4 to 12 to write to an author about how his or her work affected their lives.

More than 29,000 students from across the country participated in this year’s initiative. The contest is promoted by the Library’s Center for the Book through its affiliated state centers, state libraries, state humanities councils and other organizations.

Top letter-writers are chosen for each state and in each of three levels: Level 1 (grades 4 to 6), Level 2 (grades 7 to 8) and Level 3 (grades 9 to 12). National Prize recipients receive a $2,000 award and National Honor Award Prize recipients receive a $500 award. The following are this year’s winners:

Level 1 National Prize

Xander Sanchez of Honolulu, Hawaii, wrote to Theodore Gray, author of “The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe.”

Level 1 National Honor Award

Evan Kotick of Seville, Ohio, wrote to Michael Lewis, author of “The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game.”

Llaria Luna of Washington, D.C., wrote to Marsha Skrypuch, author of “Stolen Child.”

Level 2 National Prize

Yael Epstein of Carmel, Indiana, wrote to Ayaan Hirsi Ali, author of “Infidel.”

Thea Millenson-Wilens of Mount Tremper, N.Y., wrote to Gayle Forman, author of “If I Stay.”

Level 2 National Honor Award

Saimaa Widi of Cheyenne, Wyoming, wrote to Olivia Vella, author of “Why Am I Not Good Enough?”

Level 3 National Prize

Amatullah Mir of Hickory Hills, Illinois, wrote to Sana Amanat and G. Willow Wilson, authors of “Ms. Marvel Series.”

Level 3 National Honor Award

Colton Schons of Spokane, Washington, wrote to Paul Murray, author of “Skippy Dies.”

Tejal Pendekanti of Westlake, Ohio, wrote to Gloria Anzaldua, author of “How to Tame a Wild Tongue.”

The 2018-2019 Letters About Literature contest for young readers is made possible by a generous grant from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, with additional support from gifts to the Center for the Book.

The Library’s Center for the Book, a unit of the Center for Learning, Literacy and Engagement, was established by Congress in 1977 to stimulate public interest in books and reading. A public-private partnership, the Center for the Book sponsors educational programs that reach readers of all ages through its affiliated state centers, collaborations with nonprofit reading-promotion partners and through its Poetry and Literature Center at the Library. For more information, visit read.gov .

The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, offering access to the creative record of the United States – and extensive materials from around the world – both on-site and online. It is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Explore collections, reference services and other programs and plan a visit at loc.gov, access the official site for U.S. federal legislative information at congress.gov and register creative works of authorship at copyright.gov.

University Libraries Hosts 2019 Letters About Literature Award Ceremony

April 29th, 2019
by Donna
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The Alabama Center for the Book will honor state winners of the Letters About Literature contest at an award ceremony on Saturday, May 11, at 11 a.m. in Gorgas Library, room 205, at The University of Alabama.

Letters About Literature is a national reading and writing contest for students in grades four through 12. Students are asked to read a fiction or nonfiction book, book series, short story, essay, or speech and write to the author (living or dead) about how the book affected them personally.

The competition is made possible by a generous grant from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation with additional support from gifts to the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, which promotes the contest through its affiliate Centers for the Book, state libraries, and other organizations.

Guest speaker will be children’s author Charles Gigna, better known as Father Goose.

Gigna is the author of more than 100 books from Random House, Simon & Schuster, Time Inc., Disney, Scholastic, and Harper’s to Highlights and Cricket magazines. He served as poet-in-residence and chair of creative writing at the Alabama School of Fine Arts and is instructor of creative writing at Samford University.

One of his latest books, “Alabama My Home Sweet Home” celebrates Alabama’s bicentennial for young readers.

First place winners will receive a $100 gift card, second place will receive a $75 gift card, and third place winners will receive a $50 gift card. All semi-finalists will receive certificates.

2019 Alabama Winners

Level 1 (Grades 4-6)

First Place – Edith Kaplan, N. E. Miles Jewish Day School

Second Place – Davis Philhower, Individual Entry

Third Place – Ari Azrad, N.E. Miles Jewish Day School

Level 2 (Grades 7-8)

First Place – Landon Perdue, Baldwin Arts & Academics Magnet School

Second Place – Alexandra Ours, Baldwin Arts & Academics Magnet School

Third Place – Ariel Steele, Baldwin Arts & Academics Magnet School

Level 3 (Grades 9-12)

First Place – Anna Carden, Pelham High School

Second Place – Lupita Aguilar, Pelham High School

Third Place – Michael Jones, Individual Entry

LETTERS ABOUT LITERATURE

September 26th, 2018
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LETTERS ABOUT LITERATURE

About the Contest

2018-2019 Documents

Call for Students (PDF)
Official Rules (PDF)
Permission Form for Students Under 13 (PDF)
How to Enter: Students or Teachers

Letters About Literature is a reading and writing contest for students in grades 4-12. Students are asked to read a book, poem or speech and write to the author (living or dead) about how the book affected them personally. Letters are judged on state and national levels. Tens of thousands of students from across the country enter Letters About Literature each year. If you are in grades 4-12, you are eligible to enter the Letters About Literature reading and writing contest.

For the first time, students are asked to submit their 2018-2019 letters via the Letters About Literature online platform. Entries will be accepted starting Nov. 1, 2018. The deadline for all Alabama entries is Jan. 11, 2019.

Students may enter the contest individually or teachers may submit their classroom entries.

All Alabama entries will be judged first by Alabama judges. There will be a first, second and third place winner in each of the three levels. First place winners will receive a $100 gift card, second place winners will receive a $75 gift card and third place winners will receive a $50 gift card. All semi-finalists will receive a certificate.

The three first place winning entries will then advance to the national competition. National winners in each competition level will receive a $2,000 cash award. National honorable mention winners in each competition level will receive a $500 cash award.

The Alabama Award Ceremony will be held on May 19, 2019, in Amelia Gayle Gorgas Library on the campus of The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. All semi-finalists, winners and their families will be invited to attend. Guest speaker will be children’s author Charles Ghigna better known as Father Goose®. Ghigna is the author of more than 5,000 poems and 100 award-winning books.

The 2018-19 Letters About Literature contest for young readers is made possible by a generous grant from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, with additional support from gifts to the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, which promotes the contest through its affiliate Centers for the Book, state libraries and other organizations.

For additional information, please contact Donna Adcock, dbadcock@ua.edu, state coordinator.

Charles Ghigna’s Children’s Book Selected to Represent Alabama at the 2018 National Book Festival

August 8th, 2018
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“Alabama My Home Sweet Home!” by Charles Ghigna, aka Father Goose®, has been selected by the Alabama Center for the Book to represent the state in the 52 Great Reads at the 18^th Library of Congress National Book Festival in Washington, DC on Sept. 1, 2018.

This creative story book was written to celebrate Alabama’s 200^th birthday and takes children on a tour through Alabama discovering some of the state’s most famous figures, places and events.

Every year, a list of books representing the literary heritage of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands is distributed by the Library of Congress’s Center for the Book during the National Book Festival.

Children, young adults and adults visit each state’s booth located in the Parade of States area collecting stamps for their Great Reads Map and gathering additional information about the state.

Visitors to the Alabama booth this year will have an extra treat. Ghigna will be on hand throughout the day to greet guests and sign autographs. His book, along with books from the other states, DC and the Virgin Islands, will be on sale in the book festival’s sales area.

Ghigna and illustrator Michelle Hazelwood Hyde both reside in Alabama. Ghigna has written more than one hundred books for children and adults; while Hyde is a freelance illustrator of ten children’s books.

The Alabama Center for the Book participates each year at the annual book festival held in the Washington Convention Center. One of the pre-eminent literary events in the United States, thousands of book fans gather to hear lectures by best-selling authors, panel discussions, attend book signings and enjoy other fun activities.

University Libraries Hosts Letters About Literature Award Ceremony

April 27th, 2018
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The Alabama Center for the Book will honor state winners of the 25th Annual Letters About Literature contest at an award ceremony on Saturday, April 28, at 11 a.m. in Gorgas Library, room 205, at The University of Alabama.

Letters About Literature is a national reading and writing contest for students in grades four through 12. Students are asked to read a book, poem or play and write a reflective letter to the author about how the author’s work changed them or their view of the world.

The competition is sponsored by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation and the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, which promotes the contest through its affiliates.

Guest speaker will be Adam Davis from Dothan.

Davis is a former police officer with experience as a patrol officer, traffic homicide investigator, criminal investigator, and hostage negotiator. In 2015, shortly after releasing his first book, Spirit & Truth: 52 Encouraging Messages for America’s Law Enforcement, Davis shifted his focus from serving in active law enforcement to service in ministry, writing and business.

“Winners, semi-finalists, parents and teachers are invited to attend the awards ceremony,” said Donna Adcock, director of public relations, University Libraries, and director of the Alabama Center for the Book. “First-place winners will receive a $100 gift card, second place will receive a $75 gift card and third place winners will receive a $50 gift card.” All semi-finalists will receive certificates.

The number of entries from Alabama, 479, more than doubled from last year. After two rounds of judging, 52 letters were selected as semi-finalists.

The first-place winners in each state competition will be entered into a national competition where overall winners will be selected in each level. National winners in each competition level will receive $1,000.

The 2018 Alabama Letters About Literature winners are:

Level 1 (grades 4-6)

First place: Faith Swanson, Daphne

Second place: Katelyn Elrod, Birmingham

Third place: Gabriella Elise Barrera, Montgomery

Level 2 (grades 7-8)

First place: Morgan Streeter, Hoover

Second place: Olivia Honeycutt, Birmingham

Third place: Joseph Katz, Birmingham

Level 3 (grades 9-12)

First place: Zionne McCrear, Gardendale

Second place: Laura Tatum, Pelham

Third place: Jamie Abbott, Pelham

The Alabama Center for the Book is an affiliate of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress and housed in the University Libraries at The University of Alabama. The Alabama Center for the Book supports reading, literacy and other book-related activities in Alabama as well as promotes appreciation of regional writers. The Center is a founding co-sponsor of the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame.

The University of Alabama Libraries is essential in advancing the educational mission of the University. We provide innovative instruction, services and resources to facilitate teaching, research and learning. University Libraries is committed to be student-centered and research-focused in order to support discovery, learning and creativity at the Capstone.

Alabama Writers Hall of Fame Announces Class of 2018

April 25th, 2018
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Eight distinguished authors will be inducted into the 2018 Alabama Writers Hall of Fame at The University of Alabama’s Bryant Conference Center on May 24.

This year’s inductees include Winston Groom, Gay Talese, Charles Gaines, Shirley Ann Grau, William Bradford Huie, Wayne Greenhaw, James Haskins and Joseph Glover Baldwin.

A reception will be held in their honor at 6 p.m. followed by dinner at 7 p.m. The induction ceremony will immediately follow dinner.

Groom is a UA graduate and grew up in Mobile County. He is best known for his book Forrest Gump which was adapted into a film winning six Academy Awards. He has written short stories, novels, and numerous non-fiction works on diverse subjects including the American Civil War and World War I.

Grau was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and lived much of her childhood in and around Montgomery and Selma. Her book, The Keepers of the House, was awarded the 1965 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Much of her writing centers around stories about women and are often set in the Deep South. Her works include The Black Prince, nominated for the National Book Award in 1956, Evidence of Love, Nine Women and Selected Stories published in 2006.

Authors being posthumously inducted are Huie, Greenhaw, Haskins and Baldwin.

Huie, a native of Hartselle, attended UA graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1930. Huie’s books, both fiction and non-fiction, centered around topics related to World War II and the Civil Rights Movement. His works include The Americanization of Emily adapted into a film in 1964 with the same name, The Execution of Private Slovick adapted as a television movie in 1974, and He Slew the Dreamer, written in 1970 about the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Greenhaw, born in Sheffield, moved to Tuscaloosa as a young boy. He enrolled at UA and studied under the creative writing professor Hudson Strode He is the author of 22 books, and was a journalist for The New York Times and Times. Greenhaw is known for writing about the Civil Rights Movement including Fighting the Devil in Dixie: How Civil Rights Activists Took on the Ku Klux Klan in Alabama.

Haskins, a native of Demopolis, received degrees from Georgetown University, Alabama State University, and the University of New Mexico. He wrote more than one hundred books for children and adults, many highlighting the accomplishments of African Americans. His 1977 picture book, The Cotton Club, was used as inspiration for the 1984 movie. He won numerous awards including the Coretta Scott King Award for his book The Story of Stevie Wonder in 1976 and the Alabama Library Association Award for best work for children in 1988.

Baldwin, a native of Virginia, moved to Alabama in 1836. He practiced law with his brother before being elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in 1843. While practicing law, he wrote two books of humorous stories, The Flush Times of Alabama and Mississippi: A Series of Sketches, published in 1853, and Party Leaders, published in 1854.

Groom, Talese, and Greenhaw have also been honored with the Harper Lee Award for the Distinguished Alabama Writer of the year.

The Alabama Writers Hall of Fame was founded in 2015 through a partnership between the Alabama Center for the Book, housed in the University Libraries at UA and the Alabama Writers’ Forum, a statewide literary services nonprofit located in Montgomery.

The Alabama Center for the Book, established in 2001, is an affiliate of the National Center for the Book at the Library of Congress. The Center supports reading, literacy and other book-related activities in Alabama including the national Letters About Literature reading and writing contest.

Founded in 1993 to recognize Alabama’s strong literary tradition, the Alabama Writers’ Forum facilitates the practice of literary arts through its services to writers and the general public. With individual and corporate associates, the Forum represents the diverse voices of Alabama’s contemporary writing talent as well as the readers, educators, and state leaders who appreciate them. The Forum is a partnership program of the Alabama State Council on the Arts.

Individual tickets and sponsor tables are on sale and can be purchased by contacting Emily Burnett at emburnett@ua.edu or 205-348-5543.

Call for Student Entries in the 25th Annual Letters About Literature Writing Competition

October 18th, 2017
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Have you ever read a book that affected you and you wanted to write the author? Now is your chance to polish up your reflective writing skills and write a letter to an author – living or dead – explaining how his or her work changed your view of yourself or your world.

Students in grades four – 12 are eligible to enter the Letters About Literature contest. Teachers may select this as a class project and enter their entire class or students can enter on their own. To find out more about the contest and how to enter, go to the Center for the Book’s website. Deadline for all entries is January 12, 2018.

Tens of thousands of students from across the country enter Letters About Literature each year. Letters are judged on state and national levels. National winners in each of the three competition levels receive a $1,000 cash award.

The Alabama Center for the Book sponsors the state competition and also presents cash prizes to the state winners. State semi-finalists, families and teachers will be invited to attend a state award ceremony held in the Amelia Gayle Gorgas Library at The University of Alabama in the spring.

A teaching guide with activities for teachers to direct students through the book discussion and letter-writing process can also be found on the website. The guide addresses the LAL teaching strategies and ways in which the program can dovetail with curriculum for teaching reading and writing.

LAL is a reflective writing competition sponsored by the Library of Congress Center for the Book and presented in association with affiliate State Centers for the Book with funding provided by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation.

The Alabama Center for the Book supports reading, literacy and other book-related activities in Alabama and promotes appreciation of regional writers. The Center is a founding co-sponsor of the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame.

For more information about the contest, contact Donna Adcock, Alabama state coordinator, at dbadcock@ua.edu.

Young Adult Novel Selected to Represent Alabama at the National Book Festival

July 31st, 2017
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The Alabama Center for the Book has selected the young adult novel Make It Work by Birmingham author Chandra Sparks Splond to represent Alabama at the 2017 Library of Congress National Book Festival in Washington DC, Sept. 2, 2017. The festival will be held in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

The book is the state’s selection for the national “Discover Great Places through Reading” brochure. The brochure lists children or young adult books from each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The brochure will be distributed in the Pavilion of the States area at the book festival. The list maybe also found on the National Book Festival website.

Splond is an editor, speaker, award-winning author and blogger. Her young adult novel Spin It Like That was chosen as a Popular Paperback for Young Adults by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). Her book The Pledge was a YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers.

“It is such an honor for my young adult novel Make It Work to be selected to represent the state of Alabama. I am both excited and humbled by this opportunity, and I hope it will result in more kids getting excited about reading,” said Splond.

Splond is a graduate of The University of Alabama with a degree in journalism.

The National Book Festival will feature presentations by award-winning authors, poets and illustrators. Festival attendees can listen to their favorite authors, attend book signings and participate in many literary activities during the day-long event.

The Alabama Center for the Book is housed in the University Libraries at The University of Alabama. The Center supports reading, literacy and other book-related activities in Alabama as well as promotes appreciation of regional writers. The Center is a founding co-sponsor of the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame and participates in the Letters About Literature reading and writing contest.

Author: Donna

Author: Donna