The Neag School of Education, UConn’s Department of English, and the Connecticut Writing Project (CWP), co-sponsors of the 28th annual Letters About Literature contest, are proud to announce Connecticut’s winners for the 2020-21 academic year.

Each year, students in Grades 4 through 12 are invited to read a book, poem, or speech and write a letter to that author (living or dead) about how the text affected them personally. Of the 645 submissions from Connecticut students this year, 96 semi-finalists have been named. Each Letters About Literature semifinalist received a letter of recognition. Contest judges then selected a total of 10 submissions state finalists from the contest’s three categories (Grades 4-6, Grades 7-8, and Grades 9-12) as finalists, each of whom will receive a gift card.

Neag School Professor Doug Kaufman, CWP Director Jason Courtmanche, and Department of English Ph.D. candidate Kiedra Taylor served as the contest’s representatives for the state of Connecticut. Read more about the contest, and read the winning essays below.

Congratulations to the Letters About Literature finalists for the state of Connecticut

Listed below are the finalists with their school and teacher’s name, and the work of literature that is the focus of their essay, with access to their winning submissions in PDF format.

Level I (Grades 4-6)

• First Place: Amelia Athay, Essex Elementary School, Heather Skaanning, The Trials of Apollo Series by Rick Riordan
  
• Honorable Mention: Malena Abadia, Charter Oak International Academy, Michele Hadlock, Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary
  
• Honorable Mention: Jake Chaletsky, King Philip Middle School, Lucinda Kulvinskas, Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan

Level II (Grades 7-8)

• First Place: Wendy Guo, Mansfield Middle School, Annie Perkins, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
• Honorable Mention: Amani Snellings, King Philip Middle School, Carissa Teff (Sedgewick Middle School), Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhoades
• Honorable Mention: Dominic Jenkins, Sage Park Middle School, Kim McGee, Dear Martin by Nic Stone

Level III (Grades 9-12)

• First Place: Maxie Soja, Griswold High School, Nadine Keane, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
  
• Honorable Mention: Jane Prusko, Ridgefield High School, Katherine Gabbay, On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden
  
• Honorable Mention: Kuniya Asobayire, Hillhouse High School, Kevin Barbero, “Ain’t I a Woman” by Sojourner Truth
  
• Honorable Mention: Erin Mutchek, South Windsor High School, Danielle Pieratti, Blue Asylum by Kathy Hepinstall

Jason Courtmanche, co-chair of Connecticut’s Letters About Literature Contest, gives remarks for the 2021 contest.

First-place winner in Level I, Amelia Athay from Essex (Conn.) Elementary School, reads her essay “The Trials of Apollo Series” by Rick Riordan.

First place winner in Level II, Wendy Guo from Mansfield (Conn.) Middle School, reads her essay “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas.

Maxie Soja from Griswold (Conn.) High School, who earned first place in Connecticut’s  2021 Letters About Literature Contest for Level III, reads her essay on “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson.