LAL Home | Official Rules | Prizes| Teacher Submission Guidelines|2026 Winners

Official Rules

Texas 4th-12th graders are invited to participate in Letters About Literature, an annual writing competition administered by the Texas Center for the Book. Students read a book or poem and write a letter to an author—living or dead—explaining how his or her work changed their view of themselves or the world. 

Winning students will be recognized and receive their awards at the Texas Library Association Annual Conference in Houston, in March 2026.

1. Letters About Literature Texas is open to residents of Texas. Application information: The online submission portal (https://xtexasstatelibrary.submittable.com/submit) will open on Monday, November 3, 2025. If you have not entered before, you will need to create a free Submittable account in order to apply. The deadline is 6:00 p.m. Central time on Monday, January 26, 2026.
    
2. Students must be in grades 4 through 12 during the school year of the contest.
     There are three (3) Levels of Competition: 

Level 1: Grades 4-6   
Level 2: Grades 7-8
Level 3: Grades 9-12

5. Students select a fiction or nonfiction book, book series, essay, play, poem, short story or speech (excluding song lyrics) that they have read and about which they have strong feelings. Note to teachers: Please do not assign a particular work to students; rather, allow students to choose a piece of literature that speaks to them personally.
    
6. Students write a personal letter to the author of their selected piece of literature explaining how the work changed the student’s view of themselves or their world. The letter’s aim is not to flatter the author, summarize the piece of literature, or serve as a book report; rather, the letter creates a conversation with the author in which the student expresses thoughts, feelings, and/or ideas inspired by the author’s writing, as well as its impact on the student’s life. Students should write honestly and from their own perspectives or the world.
    
7. Entries must use no fewer than 400 words and no more than 800 words. Only submissions in English will be accepted.
    
8. Entries must include a date, greeting, body of the letter, closing, and name/signature. Please do not include a return address on your letter. Note: These elements will be included in the entry’s word count.
    
9. For teachers and school librarians, students who participated in the Letters About Literature contest can receive these participation certificates.

Terms of Use

1. Each entry a) must be the original creation of the submitting student; b) must be previously unpublished and cannot have been submitted to any other competition; c) must not infringe upon or violate the rights of any third party; and, d) by the act of submission, warrants and represents that the student (and parent/legal guardian if student is a minor) fully and completely conforms to the stated requirements for entry. No other form of participation other than as stated in these Official Rules is valid. If the entry is selected as a winner, the student’s parent/legal guardian will be contacted for permission to publish. The Texas Center for the Book suggests that students keep a copy of their entry. All submitted entries become the sole property of the Texas Center for the Book and will not be acknowledged or returned. Limit one (1) entry per student. 
    
2. Per online submission guidelines, students younger than the age of 13 as of the opening of the contest must obtain and upload a hand-signed permission from parent/legal guardian to be eligible for entry. Permission forms will be posted at the time a new contest is announced. Entries by/for students younger than the age of 13 without a signed, uploaded form are ineligible and will be discarded. 
    
3. Judging: Entries are subject to multiple rounds of judging based on the Letters About Literature rubric and contest rules. Decisions by judges are final and binding in all judging matters related to the State Level. 
    
4. It is the responsibility of the educator or individual submitting nominations to evaluate the submission materials and take appropriate action if the materials contain any expressions of the intent to self-harm, depression, or other sensitive subjects. The educator or submitting individual should follow the policies of their school or educational institution in handling such matters or contact the appropriate local resources to follow up with the student and, if appropriate, with the students and parents or legal guardians, as the local policy and confidentiality guidelines permit. Submitting educators and individuals agree, by submitting materials to Letters About Literature Texas, that they have reviewed the materials for this purpose and taken appropriate action.
    
5. Winners’ List: For names of the winners, visit www.tsl.texas.gov/lettersaboutliterature. Winners are posted in March.

Sponsor: Texas Center for the Book at the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, 1201 Brazos St., Austin, TX 78701. Letters About Literature Texas contest is made possible by the Texas Library and Archives Foundation, Inc. with additional support from gifts to the Texas Center for the Book.