INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – The Indiana State Library is once again promoting the power of literature through its “Letters About Literature” competition. This statewide writing contest invites students in grades four through twelve to write a letter to an author whose work has profoundly impacted their lives. Whether it helped them see the world differently or provided solace during tough times, the contest encourages young readers to reflect on how books shape their identity.

Suzanne Walker, a librarian at the Indiana State Library, has managed the program for 12 years and says it’s always a joy to read the heartfelt letters submitted by students.

“They write about how books help them with bullying at school, how books can help them find who they are, their identity. They write about racism; they write about that you anything could go through.”

The Indiana Center for the Book is a program located inside the Indiana State Library and is an affiliate of the Library of Congress. The Indiana Center for the Book celebrates Indiana’s local literary heritage through statewide programs promoting Indiana Authors and reading and writing. 
Suzanne Walker received her Master of Library Science from Indiana University. She is currently the Indiana Young Readers Center Librarian and Director of the Indiana Center for the Book, an affiliate of the Library of Congress. She coordinates Indiana’s Letters About Literature competition annually.

Suzanne judged the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards in 2013 and 2014 and the Indiana Poetry Out Loud competition in 2017.

Most recently, she was a judge for the 2020 and 2022 Indiana Authors Awards and the 2021 Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award. She has presented for the American Library Association and numerous times at Indiana Library Federation’s District conferences, annual conferences, and youth conferences and is proud to have been interviewed about Indiana authors by NPR. 

To learn more about the Letters About Literature competition, visit https://www.in.gov/library/icb/lal/