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2016 State Winners
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 winner of the National Prize; Blue indicates winner of a National Honor Award.
| State | Level I | Level II | Level III |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Caileigh Moose, Birmingham, wrote to Margi Preus, about the book, Heart of the Samurai | Lexie Fowler, Birmingham, wrote to Lois Duncan, author of Locked in Time | Arianna Cherry, Birmingham, wrote to Jerry Spinelli, author of Stargirl |
| Alaska | Phoebe Thomas, Kenai, wrote to Pseudonymous Bosch, about The Secret Series and Bad Magic | Ginni Orth, Kenai, wrote to Laura Smith, author of Skinny | Abigail FitzGibbon, Sitka, wrote to Shelby Bach, about the book Of Witches and Wind |
| Arizona | Terra Skaar, Gilbert, wrote to Jacqueline Kelly, about The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate | Name Withheld | Jane Wang, Chandler, wrote to George Orwell, author of 1984 |
| Arkansas | Ayden Black, Greenbrier, wrote to R. J. Palacio, author of Wonder | Priya Thelapurath, Bentonville, wrote to Jay Asher, about Thirteen Reasons Why | Margaret Lim, Searcy, wrote to Ray Bradbury, author of Fahrenheit 451 |
| California | Venkat Ranjan, San Ramon, wrote to Harper Lee, about To Kill a Mockingbird | Neeti Badve, Saratoga, wrote to Fred Gipson, author of Old Yeller | Katrina Coglitore, Saratoga, wrote to Robert Frost about Nothing Gold Can Stay |
| Colorado | Luke Karel, Parker, wrote to Jon Krakauer, author of Into Thin Air | Brenna Wright, Boulder, wrote to Jennifer Niven, author of All the Bright Places | Sarah Lurie, Boulder, wrote to Dorothy Parker about the poem "Penelope" |
| Connecticut | Aleema Kelly, Hartford, wrote to Alex Gino, author of George | En-Hua C. Holtz, Niantic, wrote to Anne Frank, about The Diary of a Young Girl | Julia Tofan, Hebron, wrote to Maya Angelou, about her poem "Still I Rise" |
| Delaware | Esha Bolar, Wilmington, wrote to Dr. Seuss, about The Lorax | Jaida Mosley, dover, wrote to Libba Bray, author of The Diviners | Nia Gadde, Hockessin, wrote to S, Bear Bergman, author of The Nearest Exit May Be Behind You |
| District of Columbia | Ellie Sanders, DC, wrote to Fred Gipson about his novel, Old Yeller | Raya Kenney, DC, wrote to Maya Angelou, about her poem "Old Folks Laugh" | (Name withheld by request) wrote to Ned Vizzini, author of It's Kind of a Funny Story |
| Florida | Alana Waddell, Jacksonville, wrote to Sandra L. Pinkney, author of Shades of Black | Pippa Scroggins, Boca Raton, wrote to Gayle Forman, author of If I Stay | Larissa Bersh, Marco Island, wrote to Lisa Genova, author of Still Alice |
| Georgia | Xavier Turner , Lilburn, wrote to Christopher Paul Curtis, author of The Watsons Go To Birmingham, 1963 | Margaret Hart, Alpharetta, wrote to Condoleezza Rice Rice, author of No Higher Honor | Margaret Timberlake, Athens, wrote to Paul Fleishman, author of Whirligig |
| Hawaii | Jourdan (full name withheld by request), Waipahu ,wrote to Margot Theis Raven, author of Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot | Kevin Li, Hilo, wrote to George Orwell, author of Animal Farm | Sara Kay, Honolulu, wrote to Lisa Yee, author of r |
| Idaho | Elise St Clair, Twin Falls, wrote to R. J. Palacio, author of Wonder | Talia Walsmith, Post Falls, wrote to Lois Lowry, author of The Giver | Ashlyn Yevchak, Boise, wrote to Veronica Roth, author of Divergent |
| Illinois | Emma Blaum, Galena, wrote to R. J. Palacio, author of Wonder | Sarah Huddleston, Inverness, wrote to David Levithan, author of Will Grayson Will Grayson | Zachary Kowalczyk, Wheaton, wrote to Alex Kotlowitz author of There Are No Children Here |
| Indiana | Carly Toussant, Indianapolis, wrote to Holly Goldberg Sloan, author of Counting by 7s | Skylar Rumple, Ligonier, wrote to Tupak Shakur, about "The Rose that Grew From Concrete" | Zosha Roberson, Saint Croix, wrote to John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars |
| Iowa | Josie Boyle, Peosta, wrote to J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter Series | Hannah Huang, Ames, wrote to Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda, authors of I Will Always Write Back | Amen Gabre, Davenport, wrote to Beza Tamerat, author of The Bold Countryside Girl |
| Kansas | No state winner selected this year | Sienna Sun, Prairie Village, wrote to Lisa Bergren, author of Deluge | No state winner selected this year |
| Kentucky | No state winner selected this year | No state winner selected this year | Alyssa Baker, Harrodsburg, wrote to Lemony Snicket about A Series of Unfortunate Events |
| Louisiana | Danielle Thai, Zachary, wrote to Katherine Paterson, Author of Bridge to Terabithia | Amaya Williams, New Orleans, wrote to Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird | Catelyn Errington, Luling, wrote to Markus Zusak, author of I Am the Messenger and The Book Thief |
| Maine | Austen Turner , Bangor, wrote to Lisa Fielder, author of Mouseheart | Jeffrey David Fosgate, Lyman, wrote to Michael Rosen, author of The Hypnotiser | Mei Tian, Bangor, wrote to Carolyn Marsden and Virginia Shin-Mui Loh, authors of The Jade Dragon |
| Maryland | Margaret Kato, Columbia, wrote to Kathryn Lasky, author of The Escape | Noor Saleem, Potomac, wrote to Hans Christian Andersen about "The Little Matchstick Girl" | Lauralee An, Catonsville, wrote to Rainbow Rowell, author of Eleanor and Park |
| Massachusetts | Calla Kahan-Fagan, Bedford, wrote to Anne Braff Brodzinsky, author of The Mulberry Bird | Ning-Er Lei, Cambridge, wrote to Malala Yousafzai, about her book I Am Malala | Sabrina Schick, Northborough, wrote to Sylvia Plath, author of The Bell Jar |
| Michigan | Beatrice Mulder, Holland, wrote to Sharon Draper, about her novel Out of My Mind | Alexis Krumbach, Williamston, wrote to Joni Eareckson Tada, about Joni, An Unforgettable Story | (name withheld pending permission), Ann Arbor, wrote to Maya Angelou, author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings |
| Minnesota | Alexander Jadoo, Lakeville, wrote to Brian Falkner, author of Brain Jack | Natalie Anderson, Orono, wrote to George Orwell, author of Animal Farm | Dani Dahlseid, Minneapolis, wrote to Jay Asher, author of Thirteen Reasons Why |
| Mississippi | Isyss Jones, Newton, wrote to Rachel Renee Russell, author of The Dork Diaries | Kyran Williams-Roberts, Starkville, wrote to J. K. Rowling about The Harry Potter series | Victoria Kinsey, Pontotoc, wrote to J. R. R. Tolkien, author of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings |
| Missouri | Kaylin Cotton, Oregon, wrote to Suzanne LaFleur, about her book Love Aubrey | Ashleigh Waggoner, Belton , wrote to James Carville, author of Lu and the Swamp Ghost | Ida May, Cape Girardeau, wrote to Victor Hugo, author of Les Misérables |
| Montana | Madeline Gilder, Hamilton, wrote to Robert Munsch, author of I'll Love You Forever | Maeve Daley, West Yellowstone, wrote to Kate DeCamillo, author of The Tale of Despereaux | Isabella Christensen, Missoula, wrote to Anne Frank about The Diary of Anne Frank |
| Nebraska | Conleigh Hemmer, Lincoln, wrote to Patricia McKissack, about her book A Friendship for Today | Madeline Walker, Lincoln, wrote to Ray Bradbury, author of Fahrenheit 451 | Colette Mahr, Chadron, wrote to Laurie Halse Anderson, author of Wintergirls |
| Nevada | Erin Choi, Las Vegas, wrote to C. S. Lewis, author of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe | Sneha Sridhar, Las Vegas, wrote to Ray Bradbury, author of Fahrenheit 451 | Haley Bain, Las Vegas, wrote to Robert Frost, about "The Road Not Taken" |
| New Hampshire | Liliana Pistor, Brookline, wrote to R. J. Palacio, author of Wonder | Anthony Perriello, Meriden, wrote to Paul Volponi, author of The Final Four | Kaitlyn Grant, Somersworth, wrote to Neil Gamen, author of "OCD" |
| New Jersey | Amrita Sutradhar, Metuchen, wrote to Wendy Mass, author of A Mango-Shaped Space | Nathan Tang, Fair Lawn, wrote to Orson Scott Card, author of Ender's Game | Kristopher Kulick, Freehold, wrote to J. R. R. Tolkien, author of The Hobbit |
| New Mexico | Grace Logsted, Edgewood, wrote to James Dashner, author of The Maze Runner | Kate Colson, Edgewood, wrote to Stuart Hill, author of The Cry of the Icemark | Arielle Moosman, Ramah, wrote to Jerry Spinelli, author of Stargirl |
| New York | Ava Zajfe, New York City, wrote to Esther Averill, author of The Fire Cat | John Finney-Maloney, Commack, wrote to George Orwell, author of Animal Farm | Violet Fearon, Pleasantville, wrote to Anne Frank, author of The Diary of Anne Frank |
| North Carolina | Catherine Boyette, Hendersonville, wrote to Rebecca Behrens, author of When Audrey Met Alice | Wesley Morris, Rougemont, wrote to Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird | Remy Lucien, Mint Hill, wrote to Benjamin Hoff, author of The Te of Piglet |
| North Dakota | Katelyn Duchscher, Rugby, wrote to Sharon Creech, author of Walk Two Moons | Jillian McCusker, Bismarck, wrote to Lisa Genova, author of Still Alice | Sylver Zimmerman, Wahpeton, wrote to the anonymous author of Letting Ana Go |
| Ohio | Jaden Stainforth, Cleveland, wrote to Kate DiCamillo, author of The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane | Paige Laughlin, Sugar Grove, wrote to Ava Dellaira abouther book, Love Letters to the Dead | Richard Sammartino, Boardman, wrote to Robert Frost about the poem, "The Road Not Taken" |
| Oklahoma | Joel Camacho, Jenks, wrote to Raquel J. Palacio, author of Auggie and Me | Maliyah James, Oklahoma City, wrote to Stephen Chbosky, author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower | Hope Melton, Edmond, wrote to Joseph Heller, about his novel Catch-22 |
| Oregon | Chaevin Hong, Eugene, wrote to Holly Goldberg Sloan, author of Counting by 7s | Alexandra Sjobeck, Portland, wrote to Renée Watson, author of the poem "Black Like Me" | Julien Comardelle, West Linn, wrote to Laini Taylor, author of Smoke and Bones |
| Pennsylvania | Maya Yvonne Burley, Pittsburgh, wrote to Maya Angelou, about her poem, "Phenomenal Woman" | Taylor Maney, Doylestown, wrote to Ned Vizzini, author of It's Kind of a Funny Story | Christine Troll, Somerset, wrote to Charles Dickens about "The Old Curiosity Shop" |
| Rhode Island | Charlie Boucher, Providence, Wrote to Kathryn Erskine, author of Mockingbird | Adeline Steinmetz, Providence, wrote to J. K. Rowling about the Harry Potter series | Isabel Medeiros, Little Compton, wrote to Keith Graves, author of Three Nasty Gnarlies |
| South Carolina | Michaela Lanier, Blythewood, wrote to Linda Sue Park, author of A Long Walk to Water | Kenly Watts, Longs, wrote to George Orwell, author of Animal Farm | Micah Wingard, Lexington, wrote to Marge Piercy, author of the poem "Barbie Doll" |
| South Dakota | No state winner selected this year | No state winner selected this year | No state winner selected this year |
| Tennessee | Jennifer Chiu, Memphis, wrote to: Lauren Oliver, author of Before I Fall | Sofia Tomov, Knoxville, wrote to: Rebecca Skloot, author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks | Emily Brown, Ooltewah, wrote to Pablo Neruda, author of the poem "I Do Not Love You Except Because I Love You" |
| Texas | Benjamin Hu, Sugardland, wrote to Lemony Snicket about A Series of Unfortunate Events | Sarah Helmbrecht, Austin, wrote to Robyn Schneider, author of The Beginning of Everything | Tiffany Wang, Denton, wrote to Grace Lin, author of Year of the Dog |
| Utah | Matthew Ludlow, Salt Lake City, wrote to John Flanagan, author of The Emperor of Nihon-Ja | Savannah McDaniel, Riverton, wrote to Wendelin Van Draanen, author of The Running Dream | Jamie Elizabeth Christensen, Beaver, wrote to Edwin Arlington Robinson, about his poem "Richard Cory" |
| Vermont | Nina Borzekowski,, Killington, wrote to Leon Leyson, author of The Boy on the Wooden Box | Cearra O'Hern, Brattleboro, wrote to R. J. Palacio about the book Wonder | Mikaya Potvin, Williamstown, wrote to Marie Lu, author of The Young Elites |
| Virginia | Aidan Faulkner, Vienna, wrote to Shelley Pearsall, author of All of the Above | Jonathan Lam, Chantilly, wrote to Mark Twain, author of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer | Margaret Gladieux, Lynchburg, wrote to John Green, author of Paper Towns |
| Washington | Grace Rivkis, Seattle, wrote to Jennifer Roy, author of Yellow Star | Joseph Jacobsen, Sammamish, wrote to Fredric Winkowski and Frank D. Sullivan, authors of 100 Planes, 100 Years | Emily Maxfield, Toppenish, wrote to Sherman Alexie, author of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian |
| West Virginia | Kiley Harmon, Fairmont, wrote to J.K.Rowling about The Harry Potter Series | Maryam Rawash, Charleston, wrote to John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars | Olivia White, Spencer, wrote to Victor Hugo, author of Les Misérables |
| Wisconsin | Joyce Essuman, Glendale, wrote to John Green about The Fault in Our Stars | Hannah Mei-en Hippe, Milwaukee, wrote to S. E. Hinton, author of The Outsiders | Holly McFarlane, Poynette, wrote to Stephen Chbosky, author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower |
| Wyoming | Mason Trollinger, Ten Sleep, wrote to Tim Green, author of Unstoppable | Arundathi Nair, Laramie, wrote about "Punyakoti" (author unknown) | Macoy Churchill, Cheyenne, wrote to Marie Lu, author of Legend |
