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State Winners Letters About Literature 2014
Three National, three National Honor and three National Honorable Mention letters (one in each level) were chosen from the tens of thousands of entries.
Yellow indicates no permission release form received as of May 13.
| State | Level I | Level II | Level III |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Rafe Jordan, Cragford, wrote to Blair Haywood, author of I Can Hardly Breathe | Harrison Neville, Birmingham, wrote to Brian Jacques, author of The Long Patrol | Sarah Mathews, Florence, wrote to Ruth Stiles Gannett, author of My Father’s Dragon |
| Alaska | Matthew Driskell, Anchorage, wrote to Bob Cary, author of Root Beer Lady | Rebecca Kahoe, Ester, wrote to James Herriot, author of All Creatures Great and Small | Taylor Wilson, Anchorage, wrote to Malala Yousafzai, author of I Am Malala |
| Arizona | Sabrina Tetmyer, Queen Creek, wrote to Shannon Hale, author of Princess Academy | Jane Wang, Chandler, wrote to Ray Bradbury, author of Fahrenheit 451 | Name Withheld wrote to Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird |
| Arkansas | Felishia Renee Bandy, Trumann, wrote to Rachel Renee Russell,, author of The Dork Diaries | Margaret Lim, Searcy, wrote to C. S. Lewis, author of The Chronicles of Narnia | Cara Shipley, Fort Smith, wrote to Ray Bradbury, author of Fahrenheit 451 |
| California | Swati Goel, Stanford, wrote to Johanna Spyri, author of Heidi | Layla Arjomand, Los Angeles, wrote to Malala Yousafzai, author of I Am Malala | Riddhi Sangam, Saratoga, wrote to Jhumpa Lahiri, author of The Namesake |
| Colorado | Sophie Goldberg, Denver, wrote to Ruta Sepetys, author of Between shades of Gray | Garrison Niemann, Castle Rock, wrote to Shel Silverstein, author of Where the Sidewalk Ends | Kristina Hagman, Littleton, wrote to John Green, author of Looking for Alaska |
| Connecticut | Non-participating state; no awards given | Non-participating state; no awards given | Non-participating state; no awards given |
| Delaware | No state winners selected this year | No state winners selected this year | No state winners selected this year |
| District of Columbia | Sophie Mansfield, Washington, DC, wrote to Michael Buckley, author of The Sisters Grimm | Ashleigh Lackey, Washington, DC, wrote to Jerry Spinelli, author of Stargirl | Terrnika Jackson, Washington, DC, wrote to Malorie Blackman, author of Noughts and Crosses |
| Florida | Amy Labrador, Miami, wrote to Lemony Snicket, author of A Series of Unfortunate Events | Jia Trescott, Hollywood, wrote to Xin Ran, author of Messages to an Unknown Mother | Nicole De Los Reyes, Hollywood, wrote to Sylvia Plath, author of the poem “Daddy” |
| Georgia | Jeremy Payne, Marietta, wrote to Jean Craighead George, author of My Side of the Mountain | Juliana Nark, Johns Creek, wrote to Rick Riordin, author of The Lost Hero | Sean Murphy, Athens, wrote to Susan Cain, author of Quiet |
| Hawaii | Christopher Teves, Honolulu, wrote to Jacqueline Davies, author of The Lemonade War | Hannah Kizawa wrote to Nicholas Sparks, author of The Long Song | Alisa Boland, Honolulu, wrote to Stehen Chbosky, author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower |
| Idaho | Cate Cartier, Coeur d’Alene, wrote to R. J. Palacio, author of Wonder | Rose Thompson, Boise, wrote to Marie Lu | Parth Kashikar, Boise, wrote to Nancy Farmer, author of The House of the Scorpion |
| Illinois | Jennifer Nguyen, Algonquin, wrote to Sharon Draper, author of Out of My Mind | Larissa Bersh, Northbrook, wrote to Megan Kelley Hall and Carrie Jones, author of Dear Bully | Jacqueline Barbera-Mirza, Barrington, wrote to Jane Austen, author of Pride and Prejudice |
| Indiana | Sara Purdue, Newburgh, wrote to Lauren Tarshis, author of I Survived the Japanese Tsumani, 2011 | Loralee Potter, Salem, wrote to John Green, author of The Fault in our Stars | Mason Hooper, Portage, wrote to Che Guevara, author of The Motorcycle Diaries |
| Iowa | Mikayla Weese, Gilbert, wrote to Ben Carson, author of The Sisters Grimm | Ellie Ball, Des Moines, wrote to Dear J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings | Quinton Jenkins, Carlisle, wrote to Michael Buckley, author of Gifted Hands |
| Kentucky | Mary Grace Vest, Shelbyville, wrote to Christina Demari, author of Ocean Star | Noah Bunch, Louisville, wrote to Ryan White, author of The Ryan White Story | Lillian Beichler, Mt. Vernon, wrote to Sylvia Plath, author of The Bell Jar |
| Louisiana | Arden Frantzen, Lafayette, wrote to Cynthia Kadohata, Kira-Kira | Jordyn Bernardi, Zachary, wrote to Stephen Chbosky, author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower | Hannah McNew, Choudrant, wrote to Antoine de Satin-Exupery, author of The Little Prince |
| Maine | Katie Lawson, Edgecomb, wrote to Peter H. Reynolds, author of Ish | Caleb Ewer, Veazie, wrote to Dr. Seuss, author of The Sneetches | Isabel Crane, Camden, wrote to Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of Little House in the Big Woods |
| Maryland | Gillian Blum, Baltimore, wrote to Brian Selznick, author of The Invention of Hugo Cabret | Jisoo Choi, Ellicott City, wrote to Anne Frank about her diary | Ella Marcovitz, Owings Mills, wrote to Alexandra Robbins, author of The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth |
| Massachusetts | Becky Miller, Wellesley, wrote to Dr. Seuss, author of One Fish Two Fish, Red Fish Blue Fish | Layla Nayfeh, Worcester, wrote to Markus Zusak, author of The Book Thief | Sally Yuen, East Longmeadow, wrote to Markus Zusak, author of I Am the Messenger |
| Michigan | Sylvia Fisher, St. Johns, wrote to Kate Dicamillo, author of The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane | Nureen Zahoor, Bloomfield Hills, wrote to Laurie Halse Anderson, author of Speak | Nancy Huang, Lake Orion, wrote to Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck Club |
| Minnesota | Nathan Behrens, Roseville, wrote to Barbara Joosse, I Love You the Purplest | Noah Visness, Woodbury, wrote to Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Men | Larissa Bohler, St. Michael, wrote to Jay Asher, author of Thirteen Reasons Why |
| Mississippi | Maddie Frisby, Tupelo, wrote to Sharon Draper, author of Out of My Mind | Kade Frisby, Long Beach, wrote to Dean Koontz, author of Odd Thomas | Arden Hale McMillin, Vidalia, LA, wrote to Aldous Huxley, author of Brave New World |
| Missouri | Jayanth V. Uppaluri, Clayton, wrote to Sharon Draper, author of Out of My Mind | Katherine Vlamis, Liberty, wrote to Lauren Oliver, author of Before I Fall | Devi Acharya, University City, wrote to George Orwell, author of Animal Farm and 1984 |
| Montana | Caitlyn Harbin, Sunburst, wrote to Susan E. Harris, author of The United States Pony Club Manual of Horsemanship | Clara Stroh, Bozeman, wrote to Theodore Taylor, author of The Bomb | Shiloh Skillen-Robison, Hysham, wrote to Stanley Gordon West, author of Blind Your Ponies |
| Nebraska | Christopher Penas-Hull, Lincoln, wrote to Jules Verne, author of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea | Sydney Kohl, Lincoln, wrote to Gary Soto, author of A Fire in my Hands | Brianna Wilson, Ogallala, wrote to Charles Bukowski, author of “You Get So Alone At Times” |
| Nevada | Kennedy Cole, Minden, wrote to Jeanne Birdsall, author of The Penderwicks | Julianne Agapinan, Las Vegas, wrote to John Green, author of The Fault of our Stars | Nancy Villeda, Las Vegas, wrote to Herman Hesse, author of Siddhartha |
| New Hampshire | Salina Chadbourne, Pembroke, wrote to Patricia Reilly Giff, author of Pictures of Hollis Wood | Anna Meldrum, Milford, wrote to Ben Mikealson, author of Touching Spirit Bear | Leah Stagnone, Litchfield, wrote to Stehen Chbosky, author of The Perks of Being a Wildflower |
| New Jersey | Saffie Payne, South Orange, wrote to Ellen Hopkins, author of Perfect | Simona Vigodner, Fort Lee, wrote to Ruta Sepetys, author of Between Shades of Gray | Su Jin Lee, Tenafly, wrote to Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck Club |
| New Mexico | Audrey Rodriguez, Albuquerque, wrote to Lynda Mullaly Hunt, author of One for the Murphys | Leah Downey, Las Cruces, wrote to Deborah Ellis, author of The Breadwinner | Katya Waid, Mountainair, wrote to Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird |
| New York | Kenta Tsujimura, Ossining, wrote to Gary Schmidt, author of Okay for Now | Julie Jasewicz, Little Falls, wrote to J.R.R. Tolkien,, author of The Hobbit | Katherine Gallagher, North Merrick, wrote to L. M. Montgomery, author of Anne of Green Gables |
| North Carolina | Anaiya Rice, Kernersville, wrote to Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler, author of Story of a Jazz Age Girl | Chloe Pryor, Hendersonville, wrote to Robert Sharenow,, author of The Berlin Boxing Club | Grace Payne, Chapel Hill, wrote to Malala Yousafzai, author of I Am Malala |
| North Dakota | Non-participating state; no awards given | Non-participating state; no awards given | Non-participating state; no awards given |
| Ohio | Aasma Cozart, Cleveland, wrote to Philip Pullman, author of The Firework-Maker’s Daughter | Gabriella Schnaidt, Granville, wrote to Patrick Ness, author of A Monster Calls | David Scherer, Westerville, wrote to J. D. Salinger, author of A Catcher in the Rye |
| Oklahoma | Camille Shelton, Tulsa, wrote to R.J. Palacio, author of Wonder | Mary Keeling, Enid, wrote to Priscilla Cummings, author of Blindsided | Paige Malone, Cushing, wrote to Shel Silverstein, author of The Giving Tree |
| Oregon | Olivia Flamm, Portland, wrote to Sharon Creech, author of Walk Two Moons | Lizzy Palmquist, Salem, wrote to Markus Zusak, author of The Book Thief | Megan Sandberg, Sherwood, wrote to Laurie Halse Anderson, author of Wintergirls |
| Pennsylvania | Veronica Maunter, Elizabethtown, wrote to Jerry Spinelli, author of Stargirl. | Christopher Troll, Somerset, wrote to Herman Melville, author of Moby Dick | Linda Wen, Danville, wrote to Amy Chua, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother |
| Rhode Island | Kelly Gorman, Barrington, wrote to Ruby Bridges, author of Through My Eyes | Amelia Pappas-Horii, Barrington, wrote to Goldberg Sloan, author of Counting by 7s | Zachary Gardell, West Kingston, wrote to Aldous Huxley, author of Brave New World |
| South Carolina | Banks Mitchell, North Myrtle Beach, wrote to E. B. White, author of Charlottte’s Web | Surya Korrapati, Lexington , wrote to Mohandas K. Gandhi (Gandhiji), author of The Story of My Life | Joshua P. Brandt, Fort Mill, wrote to J. R. R. Tolkien, author of Lord of the Rings |
| Tennessee | Sarah Shen, Memphis, wrote to Rick Riordan, author of The Lost Hero | Piper Chaussee, Coalfield , wrote to Edgar Allan Poe, author of the poem “Alone” | Prakviti Mehta, Memphis, wrote to Eleanor Coerr, author of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes |
| Texas | Vian Janse van Rensburg, Houston, wrote to Dr. Seuss, author of Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? | Kate (Kyungmin) Lee, Austin, wrote to Kathryn Erskine, author of Mockingbird | Tatum Lee, Katy, wrote to Wendy Mass, author of A Mango Shaped Space |
| Utah | Chole Dozier, Layton, wrote to Gary Paulsen | Asha Pruitt, Salt Lake City, wrote to John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars | Cassidee Hackley, Saratoga Springs, wrote to William Ernest Henley, author of Invictus |
| Virginia | Ainsley Sucherman, Ashburn, wrote to Avi, author of Seer of Shadows | Christine Wang, Chantilly, wrote to Gene Luen Yang, author of American Born Chinese | Julia Wicks, Arlington, wrote to Robert Penn Warren, author the All the King’s Men |
| Washington | Peter Baumer, Port Orchard, wrote to Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of Farmer Boy | Owen Bernstein, Sammamish, wrote to Orson Scott Card, author of Pastwatch | Cindy Kuang, Woodinville, wrote to Jerry Spinelli, author of Smiles to Go |
| West Virginia | Heavenly Adkins, St. Albans, wrote to Audrey Penn, author of The Kissing Hand | Ace Lipscomb, Princeton, wrote to Corrie Ten Boom,, author of The Hiding Place | Cedar Sands, New Martinsville, wrote to J.R.R. Tolkien,, author of The Hobbit |
| Wisconsin | Ruby L. Qionguan Slavin, Cedarburg, wrote to Carol Antoinette Peacock, author of The Red Thread Sisters | Lauren Buffington, North Lake, wrote to Malala Yousafzai, author of I Am Malala | Rebecca Karpenko, Green Bay, wrote to Ray Bradbury, author of Fahrenheit 451 |
| Wyoming | No state winners selected this year | No state winners selected this year | No state winners selected this year |
