From the desk of Mary Paynton Schaff

The Washington state Letters About Literature awards ceremony took place on Friday, May 6 in the office of the Secretary of State in Olympia.  Secretary Sam Reed and State Librarian Rand Simmons presented awards to the three state champions who read their letters.  You may view or purchase a copy of the entire ceremony at TVW, Washington’s public affairs television network.

McKenna Conlin, a sixth grader at Benjamin Franklin Elementary School in Kirkland, is the Level 1 champion. She won $125 from the State Library and a $50 gift card from Target.  McKenna wrote her letter to Sherman Alexie about his book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.

John Kang, an eleventh grader at Lakeside School in Seattle, is the Level 3 champion.  John won $125 from the State Library and a $50 gift card from Target.  John wrote his letter to Mary Paik Lee about her book Quiet Odyssey:  A Pioneer Korean Woman in America.

And Abby Bateman, a seventh grader at Snoqualmie Middle School in Snoqualmie, is the Level 2 state champion.  She won $125 from the State Library, a $150 gift card from Target, and was also selected as one of four honor awards in the national Letters About Literature contest!  As a national honor winner, Abby received a $1,000 Reading Promotion grant, which she has given to the Mount Si High School Library.  Abby wrote her letter to Katherine Paterson about her book Bridge to Terabithia.

This is the fourth time in six years that Washington has had a national award in Letters About Literature!  The Washington State Library would like to thank all the students, judges, and staff who participated this year (3376 student letters were received in Washington alone) and we look forward to more reading and writing next year.

To find out more about this year’s contest, check out our website.