Ready, Set, Write! Two RAL Students Recognized for Literary Achievement

Last winter two RAL girls were poring over their favorite books in anticipation of winning a cash prize from the State of Washington and advancing to the National Level in the Letters about Literature Essay Competition. The Letters about Literature Competition is sponsored by Target and the Library of Congress, offering grants to school libraries and Target gift cards for the contestants that write the best essay in each state. Contestants then move on to the national level and compete for more grant money and more Target money.

 Hannah Morgan 12 and Rachel Gordon 11 both submitted an essay in the form of a letter to an author of their choice, discussing one of the author’s books and its impact upon the contestant’s life. Morgan chose to write about Life Without Friends, by Ellen Emerson White, and Gordon wrote about Lord of the Flies by William Golding. “I chose the book because it is very well written and brings up important (if difficult) topics,” Gordon said, “My main message to the author was that he is a talented writer, and his book had an impact on me and made me reconsider some of my basic assumptions about people in general.”

Out of the 2,379 number of entries, only 1 was chosen to proceed on in the competition by the Washington judges. While neither girl was chosen for this honor, both were one of 167 semi-finalists, and both were one of 29 Honorable Mentions, spanning grades 4-12. In recognition of their achievements, Secretary of State Sam Reed sent a certificate to each, and a letter inviting them to a reception in Olympia to honor all the semi-finalists “I didn’t want to miss school and track, so I didn’t go,” Morgan said, “But I was really happy to have gotten an honorable mention out of so many applicants.” “I attended the awards ceremony – it was interesting to see the other entrants and the winners, and to see all the capitol buildings,” Gordon said.