FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 19, 2025
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Tessa Timperley
402-471-3434
800-307-2665
Young Nebraskans Win Writing Competition
Nebraska students competed for the twenty-sixth year in the annual Letters About Literature competition. They wrote to tell an author about how books can make a difference in a young person’s life. Young Nebraska writers who wrote winning letters in the Letters About Literature competition will attend a proclamation signing ceremony on April 10th with Gov. Jim Pillen. Letters About Literature is a state-wide reading and writing promotion program. The competition encourages young people to read, be inspired, and write back to the author (living or dead) who had an impact on their lives.
This annual contest is coordinated and sponsored by the Nebraska Center for the Book, Nebraska Library Commission, Lincoln City Libraries, Humanities Nebraska, Connie Osborne, Francie & Finch Bookshop of Lincoln, and Chapters Bookstore in Seward.
Young Nebraska writers to be honored are:
Level I (Grades 4-6):
Winner is Justin Kang-Shizuka of Lincoln’s Prescott Elementary, who wrote to Ellen Oh about their book, Finding Junie Kim.
Runner-up is Imogen Meiklejohn of Lincoln’s Prescott Elementary, who wrote to Kimberly Brubaker Bradley about their book, Fighting Words.
Level II (Grades 7-8):
Winner is Ethan Hurlburt of Lincoln’s Irving Middle School who wrote to Sudhir Venkatesh about their book, Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets.
Runner-up is Taryn Kumm of Lincoln’s Lutheran Middle and High School who wrote to Veronica Roth about their book, Divergent.
Level III (Grades 9-12):
Winner is Jacie Brabec of Wahoo Public High School, who wrote to Ana Huang about their book, Twisted Lies.
Runner-up is Ella Walsh of Wahoo Public High School, who wrote to Ruta Sepetys about their book Ashes in the Snow.
The students wrote personal letters to authors explaining how his or her work changed their view of themselves or the world. They selected authors from any genre, fiction or nonfiction, contemporary or classic. Winners were chosen from three competition levels: upper elementary, middle school, and high school.
The Nebraska winners will be honored at a reception at Lincoln City Library’s Bennett Martin branch and receive cash prizes and gift certificates. Their winning letters will then be placed in the Jane Pope Geske Heritage Room of Nebraska Authors at Bennett Martin Public Library in Lincoln. For more information about the competition see http://centerforthebook.nebraska.gov/programs/LAL.html
The Nebraska Center for the Book is housed at the Nebraska Library Commission and brings together the state’s readers, writers, booksellers, librarians, publishers, printers, educators, and scholars to build the community of the book, supporting programs to celebrate and stimulate public interest in books, reading, and the written word. The Nebraska Center for the Book is supported by the Nebraska Library Commission.
As the state library agency, the Nebraska Library Commission is an advocate for the library and information needs of all Nebraskans. The mission of the Library Commission is statewide promotion, development, and coordination of library and information services, “bringing together people and information.”
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The most up-to-date news releases from the Nebraska Library Commission are always available on the Library Commission Website, http://nlc.nebraska.gov/publications/newsreleases.
