Contest lacked Nevada entries

The letters are said to be compelling, personal and intriguing, allowing readers a glimpse into the minds of America's youth.

There are tens of thousands sent from students nationwide to King's College in Pennsylvania. None are from Nevada.

"We went through everything," said Catherine Gourley, national director for Letters About Literature. "We went through every bin. They are not here."

That's because none were ever sent.

Letters About Literature, a national essay contest that draws thousands of letters from fourth through 12th grade students, went without a word from young Nevadans this year.

A number of entries were sent from the Silver State last year, according to Gourley, who said she was surprised this year to find nothing.

Bonnie Buckley, library planning and development officer for the Nevada State Library and Archives, attributes the lack of letters to personnel turnover that kept the contest from being publicized. Buckley didn't say whether the program would be better promoted this year.

The contest is sponsored by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress and the Weekly Reader Corp. Its mission is to promote literacy. The Nevada Center for the Book is a program of the Nevada State Library and Archives. Each student writes a letter to his or her favorite author, living or dead, explaining how the author's book changed the reader's view of the world.

The letters are sent to King's College in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., where interns in the graduate reading program read, log, assess and select about 60 letters from each state. Those letters are returned to each state, where local judges choose state winners.

One top entry from each state is sent to be judged by Gourley; Kathy Macaroon, editor of Weekly Reader; and John Cole, director of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. The national winner will be selected this month.

The contest is a chance to let adults know what's going on in the minds of modern students, Gourley said. Some really pour out their souls. Others are more guarded.

The program began in the mid-1980s, but during its first seven years entries were more like book reports and only about 250 were sent, Gourley said.

In 1992 Letters About Literature was promoted on a state level and the letter format became standard, changing the entry from a summary to a personal experience.

"That opened a window so kids could talk about their own lives," Gourley said. "We always had entries but nothing like we have now. In two years, entries soared to 10,000. Now there are more than 20,000.

Last year, Jeremee Peters of Las Vegas won first place in the state for his letter to John Hersey, author of "Hiroshima." Peters explained to the author that the book helped change his hateful attitude toward the Japanese. Peters' attitude stemmed from his mother's Filipino background and the way people in the Philippines were treated by the Japanese during World War II.

Peters said he would never prejudge a culture again.

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