Three Rutherford County students have been named state-level winners in the Letters about Literature contest.

The reading and writing promotion contest encourages students to read, reflect, connect and write. The contest is a program of Humanities Tennessee, home of the Tennessee Center for the Book, in affiliation with the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, and Target.

The contest asks students in 4th-12th grades to select a fiction or nonfiction book, a short story, poem, essay, or speech they have read and to which they reacted strongly or have strong feelings. The students write a letter to that author — living or dead — about their reaction. A first round of judges at each level selected letters to advance to state round judging. A panel of nine judges, all literary professionals from across Tennessee, scored the top letters from round one to select the state’s winners.

The winners are divided into three categories based on their grade level: Level 1 is for grades 4-6, Level 2 is for grades 7-8, and Level 3 is for high school students.

Haley Wright, a sixth-grader at Siegel Middle School won first place in the state for Level 1. Haley wrote to Edgar Allen Poe about Annabel Lee. Haley’s teacher is Teri Beck. Haley won $100 from Humanities Tennessee, an award certificate, and a $50 gift card from Target. Haley’s letter advanced to compete in the national Letters About Literature competition.

For level 2 of the competition, Siegel Middle eighth-grader Kara Delbridge won first place and Christiana Middle seventh-grader Kelsey Keith won third place.

Kara wrote to Margaret Wise Brown about Goodnight Moon. Kara’s teacher is Sonya Cox. Kara won $100 from Humanities Tennessee, an award certificate, and a $50 gift card from Target. Kara’s letter advanced to compete in the national Letters About Literature competition.

Kelsey wrote to Markus Zusak about The Book Thief. Kelsey’s teacher is Carol Haislip. Kelsey won $25 from Humanities Tennessee and an award certificate.

For additional information about the contest, please see the press release from Humanities Tennessee.