Grants Available for Letter Writing Clinics—Deadline March 30
Public Librarians and All School Librarians and Teachers Invited to Apply
Books make a difference in the lives of Nebraska young people. We know this because they say so in the letters they write to authors for the Letters About Literature competition. In her 2014 winning letter to Gary Soto Sydney Kohl says, “The work inspired me to be true to myself, and also taught me the importance of each and every small perk in life. Our time on Earth is short, and might not be perfect, but as long as we take advantage of the opportunities given to us, maybe that’s okay.” *
Nebraska teachers and librarians are invited to apply for $300 grants to conduct Letters About Literature Letter Writing Clinics. Funding will be provided to introduce students to the Letters about Literature (LAL) contest and letter writing techniques, and to work with them to select books and craft letters to the authors. Grant funds can be used for items such as instructor honorariums, supplies, marketing, small participation prizes, etc. Applicants will target their efforts to specific age groups: grades 4-6, grades 7-8, or grades 9-12
Eligible Nebraska applicants include the following: public libraries, public and private schools (Elementary, Middle, Jr. High, High Schools), public librarians, public and private school librarians, public and private school teachers (grades 4–12). Partnerships between schools and libraries are encouraged.
For more information about the LAL Letter Writing Clinic grant (due March 30), see http://centerforthebook.nebraska.gov/lalwritingclinics/ or contact JoAnn McManus, Nebraska Library Commission, 402-471-4870, 800-307-2665, joann.mcmanus@nebraska.gov. This grant opportunity is sponsored by the Nebraska Center for the Book and Nebraska Library Commission, and supported by Humanities Nebraska. More about how the LAL national reading and writing promotion program encourages young readers in grades 4-12 to explore what books mean to them by writing a personal letter to an author is available at http://centerforthebook.nebraska.gov/programs/LAL.html/. The online grant application is available at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/96TR3JH
* Get inspired by listening to Nebraska winners Ashley Xiques and Sydney Kohl read and talk about and their winning letters to the authors that meant something to them at NET Radio’s All About Books (http://netnebraska.org/basic-page/radio/all-about-books).
NOTE: Letters About Literature competition made possible by a generous grant from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, with additional support from gifts to the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, which promotes the contest through its affiliate Centers for the Book, state libraries and other organizations. Letters About Literature is coordinated and sponsored in Nebraska by the Nebraska Center for the Book and the Nebraska Library Commission, with support from Houchen Bindery, Ltd. and Chapters Bookstore in Seward.
JoAnn S. McManus
Grants Coordinator
Nebraska Library Commission