UConn’s Neag School of Education, Department of English, and Connecticut Writing Project (CWP), co-sponsors of the 32nd annual Letters About Literature contest, are proud to announce Connecticut’s winners for the 2024-25 academic year.
Each year, students in grades four through 12 are invited to read a text, broadly defined, and write a letter to the author (living or dead) about how the text affected them personally. Submissions are grouped according to grade level (grades four to six; grades seven and eight; and grades nine to 12).
All submissions were read and scored by Neag School alumni teacher-volunteers. Of the 679 submissions from Connecticut students this year, 64 were recognized as semi-finalists and received letters of recognition.
A second set of judges, all pre-service teachers, then read and scored the 64 semi-finalists — twice for each submission — and selected a total of nine winners, three per grade level. Then one student per grade level was named Top Prize. Each of the nine winners will receive a $100 gift card, while the three top prize winners will also be invited to read their letter out loud at a recognition ceremony later in the spring.
Neag School associate professor Doug Kaufman, CWP interim-director Jane Cook, and Department of English graduate assistant Emmanuel Fasipe served as the contest’s representatives for the state of Connecticut.
Letters About Literature Finalists for the State of Connecticut
The following are the contest finalists, listed with their respective school’s and teacher’s names, as well as 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)
- Top Prize and Invited Reader: Cam Lansing, Kimberly Harrell (teacher), King Philip Middle School (West Hartford), The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart
- Winner: AJ Salerno, Kimberly Harrell (teacher), King Philip Middle School (West Hartford), Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell
- Winner: Ben Camacho, Eva Pandiscia (teacher), Sedgwick Middle School (West Hartford), Storm Runner by J.C. Cervantes
Level II (Grades 7-8)
- Top Prize and Invited Reader: Cora Chenier, Sara Green (teacher), Portland Middle School (Portland), Harry Potter Series, J.K. Rowling
- Winner: Aaron Shamshtein, Rachel Drouin (teacher), King Philip Middle School (West Hartford), The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
- Winner: Evie Allgood, Olivia Hamaoui (teacher), Hamden Hall Country Day School (Hamden), Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Level III (Grades 9-12)
- Top Prize and Invited Reader: Colin Monahan, Jessica Sobieralski (teacher), Cromwell High School (Cromwell), Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
- Winner: Hunter Lebun-Luo, Katherine Gabbay (teacher), Ridgefield High School (Ridgefield), The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
- Winner: Carrington Long, Tara Ceresa (teacher), Ridgefield High School (Ridgefield), The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Letters About Literature Contest Judges
Alumni, students, and friends of the Neag School of Education and the University of Connecticut judged the Letters About Literature contest submissions earlier this year. The judges selected semi-finalists at each of the three competition levels. Thank you to the first-round contest judges:
- Aidan Srb
- Alice Jones
- Allison Stroili
- Anna Muharem
- Christy Rybczyk
- Daniel Giovinazzo
- Danielle Pieratti
- Dorothy Tolchin
- Emmanuel Fasipe
- Jane Cook
- Jennifer DeRagon
- Jill Kneisl
- Jill Slayton
- Joan Muller
- Joanne Peluso
- Kelly Andrews-Babcock
- Laura Milligan
- Leah Baranauskas
- Marc Zimmerman
- Migdalia Gonsalves
- Mirelinda Dema
- Natalie Hubert
- Sonia Ahmed
- Tara Carlin
Students in the Neag School and Department of English judged the Letters About Literature semifinalist essays this past month. Thank you to the semifinalist contest judges, who are current students in the Neag School of Education Integrated Bachelor’s/Master’s program with a second major or concentration in English or UConn students majoring in English:
- Adam Ezedine
- Alyssa Slamin
- Ava Peschell
- Jake Cacace
- Joseph Miles
- Kammi Zheng
- Karen He
- Kylie Watson
- Natalia Rojas
- Shivam Viroja
- Taylor Rae
- Vanessa Guerra
- Yadiel Melendez
- Yamilet Zavala
- Yaxi He
In honor of Jason Courtmanche’s passing, we honor his hard work, dedication, and legacy for many years as the former director of CWP.
