Lisa Yee (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} lisayee) wrote,@ 2009-05-09 23:00:00 |
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Letters About Literature
Those of us "of a certain age," wrote letters. On paper. They were tucked into an envelope, addressed, stamped and mailed.
These days, many kids (and adults) IM, Twitter, Tweet, and Text, which I find quite confusing. It's its own language. For example:
POS = Parent over shoulder
WYGAM = When you get a minute
(CLICK HERE for more secret codes.)
Still, over 54,000 students, from grades four through 12, sat down and wrote an old-fashioned letter. And not just any letter, but a letter to an author telling him/her how their book changed their lives.
Each year the Library of Congress and The Center for the Book holds their Letters About Literature contest. For the 2008/2009 contest, every single letter was read and from the 54,000 entries, 5,000 of them moved on to state-level judging. From there, the winners from each state advanced to national judging.
Recently, I had the honor of being a national judge for Level I (grades 4, 5, and 6). The letters were heartfelt, moving and touching. Some made me laugh. Many made me cry. The winning letters were to Cynthia Lord and Sharon Draper.
You can read both HERE.
In all, there were three grade levels, and two winners in each catergory. The six national winners each received $10,000 grants to go to the library of their choice.
Last year, North Carolina's winner wrote a letter to me. And this year, I was thrilled to learn that one of California's honorable mentions had written about Millicent Min, Girl Genius . . .
One of the best things about being an author is hearing from readers. When my first novel came, my daughter said, "You?!?!?? You get fan mail?" Neither of us could believe it. Sometimes, I still can't.
Most of my readers send me e-mails. However, I still get old-fashioned letters in the mail. These are sent to my publisher who forwards them to me . . .
Some fans write to tell me how much they've liked my books. Often, I hear from parents. Many times kids write to as part of a school assignment. (One time I got the EXACT same letter from five different students from the same class . . . hmmmm.)
Hubby once wrote to an author, and when she never replied, he felt slighted. It was only after he was older that he learned that the reason Laura Ingalls Wilder never wrote back was because she had died in 1957. (He wrote his letter years after that.)
If you are a teacher or librarian, consider having your students enter the Letters About Literature contest. Here are the rules for 2009/2010.
Speaking of soda (yes, that was an awkward transition), you can read an interview with Moi over at A Diet Coke-Fueled Life. Plus, over at ReaderGirlz is a blog about the Absolutely Maybe cover.
Those of us "of a certain age," wrote letters. On paper. They were tucked into an envelope, addressed, stamped and mailed.
These days, many kids (and adults) IM, Twitter, Tweet, and Text, which I find quite confusing. It's its own language. For example:
POS = Parent over shoulder
WYGAM = When you get a minute
(CLICK HERE for more secret codes.)
Still, over 54,000 students, from grades four through 12, sat down and wrote an old-fashioned letter. And not just any letter, but a letter to an author telling him/her how their book changed their lives.
Each year the Library of Congress and The Center for the Book holds their Letters About Literature contest. For the 2008/2009 contest, every single letter was read and from the 54,000 entries, 5,000 of them moved on to state-level judging. From there, the winners from each state advanced to national judging.
Recently, I had the honor of being a national judge for Level I (grades 4, 5, and 6). The letters were heartfelt, moving and touching. Some made me laugh. Many made me cry. The winning letters were to Cynthia Lord and Sharon Draper.
You can read both HERE.
In all, there were three grade levels, and two winners in each catergory. The six national winners each received $10,000 grants to go to the library of their choice.
Last year, North Carolina's winner wrote a letter to me. And this year, I was thrilled to learn that one of California's honorable mentions had written about Millicent Min, Girl Genius . . .
One of the best things about being an author is hearing from readers. When my first novel came, my daughter said, "You?!?!?? You get fan mail?" Neither of us could believe it. Sometimes, I still can't.
Most of my readers send me e-mails. However, I still get old-fashioned letters in the mail. These are sent to my publisher who forwards them to me . . .
Some fans write to tell me how much they've liked my books. Often, I hear from parents. Many times kids write to as part of a school assignment. (One time I got the EXACT same letter from five different students from the same class . . . hmmmm.)
Hubby once wrote to an author, and when she never replied, he felt slighted. It was only after he was older that he learned that the reason Laura Ingalls Wilder never wrote back was because she had died in 1957. (He wrote his letter years after that.)
If you are a teacher or librarian, consider having your students enter the Letters About Literature contest. Here are the rules for 2009/2010.
Speaking of soda (yes, that was an awkward transition), you can read an interview with Moi over at A Diet Coke-Fueled Life. Plus, over at ReaderGirlz is a blog about the Absolutely Maybe cover.
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