Read Together, Florida is a statewide --One Book One State-- literacy project designed to encourage all Florida teenagers to read and share the same book, enhancing their love of reading.

This grass-root reading campaign is managed by Governor Jeb Bush's Family Literacy Initiative, coordinated by Volunteer Florida Foundation. The Center for the Literary Arts is a partner in this literacy campaign.

Selected book for Fall 2006

Zero Game by Brad Meltzer

Set in Washington's epicenter, Capitol Hill, Zero Game is a roaring political intrigue where Harris and Matthew, two long-time friends, join a secret club to overcome the boredom of their daily routine as legislative staff members, until they face life-threatening danger in a mysteriously abandoned gold mine in South Dakota.

The Center promotes Zero Game in schools throughout Miami Dade County and con-sponsored the essay contest based on Meltzer's novel. The winning piece will appear in the Spring 2007 Beginnings, a literary magazine published by the Center, and featuring the work of first-time writers.

Visit www.volunteerflorida.org for more information on the writing contest, and other on-line reading activities.

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Library of Congress announces a Call for Student Entries in National Writing Contest
            
Student submissions to Letters About Literature (LAL), a national writing contest sponsored by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress in partnership with Target and Florida Center for the Book at Broward County Library, are now being accepted. To enter, young readers write a letter to an author, past or present, describing how that author's work somehow changed the student's view of the world or of himself/herself. The contest, which focuses on reader response and reflective writing, has three competition levels: Level 1 for students in grades 4-6; Level 2 for students in grades 7 and 8; and Level 3 for students in grades 9-12. First Place winners on the state level in Florida each receive a cash award as well as a $50 Target Gift Card. Six national finalists and their parents will travel to Washington, D.C., courtesy of Target, where the finalists will read their letters during the National Book Festival in the fall of 2007. The national winners also receive a $500 Target Gift Card.

All entries must be received by December 8, 2006 .

For more information contact the Florida project coordinator at tzimmerm@browardlibrary.org .

Download entry form here.