“Letters About Literature” Contest Opens with Expanded Prizes

The Texas Center for the Book has opened its 2026–2027 Letters About Literature Texas contest, which invites students in grades 4–12 to write a letter to an author about how a work changed their outlook.
There are three categories of competition: grades 4-6, grades 7-8 and grades 9-12. The contest is open to all Texas students, including public, private and homeschool.
Prizes
- First place winners receive $300. Second place winners receive $200, and third place winners receive $100. Additionally, the Center awards a $300 grant to the school library of each first place winner.
- New this year, the school libraries of the second place winners will receive $200 grants; and the school libraries of third place winners will receive $100 grants.
- A new Honorable Mention category has been added, where the winners will receive $75, and their school libraries will receive $75 grants. (In all categories, if the winning student is homeschooled, the library grant will go to their local public library.)
- First-place winners from outside the San Antonio area also get a $400 travel stipend to be honored at the Texas Library Association conference in San Antonio in April 2027.
Deadline: Jan. 27, 2027.



