Emerson Ellenwood, a student at Whitewater Middle School, has been named the 2017-18 winner of an honorable mention award from the Wisconsin Center for the Book.

Ellenwood was one of more than 760 Wisconsin students in grades 4-12 who participated in this year’s Letters About Literature contest and one of more than 51 semi-finalists. The contest invites young readers to write a letter to an author describing how that author’s work changed their view of the world or of themselves. Judges selected Ellenwood’s letter to author Veronica Roth about her book, Divergent, in Level 1 competition for students in grades 4-6. The awards ceremony was held at the YWCA Auditorium in Green Bay as part of the Untitledtown Book Festival on April 21, 2018

The first- and second-place plus honorable mention winners were chosen from the group of semi-finalists in various grade levels (Level 1 – Grades 4-6; Level II – Grades 7-8; and Level III – Grades 9-12). First-place winners at all three levels are sent on to the national Letters about Literature competition for judging and additional prizes. More than 40,000 young readers across the country participated in this year’s Letters About Literature contest.

The Letters About Literature program in Wisconsin has been coordinated by the Wisconsin Center for the Book since 1992 in partnership with the Library of Congress.

Excerpt of Ellenwood’s letter: “You pointed out that it would be boring if we were all the same and gave me the message that being diverse or unique is okay and in some ways interesting or an advantage.”