The South Carolina Center for the Book has recognized nine students from across the state as winners of the 2008 South Carolina Letters About Literature writing contest. 

Approximately 56,000 young readers across the country participated in this year’s competition, a reading promotion program of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, presented in partnership with Target. Additional state funders include the South Carolina State Library Foundation. 

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 can select authors from any genre – fiction or nonfiction, contemporary or classic. The program has three competition levels: upper elementary, middle school and secondary. It encourages a young reader to explore his or her personal response to a book, then express that response in a creative, original way.

In South Carolina, 969 students competed across all three levels of competition.  South Carolina finalists each receive a cash prize from the South Carolina State Library Foundation plus a $50 Target gift card.

The second place winner for Level III (grades 9-12) was Katherine McCollough from the Academy for the Arts, Science & Technology in Myrtle Beach for her letter to author Stephen Chbosky about his book, The Perks of Being a Wallflower.