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2015 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.
Blue indicates winner of the National Prize; Yellow indicates winner of a National Honor Award.
| State | Level I | Level II | Level III |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Whitney Byington wrote to Adeline Yen Mah, author of Chinese Cinderella | Abby Fleenor wrote to Barbara Park, author of Junie B. Jones | Kate L. Gorveatte wrote to Katherine Reay, author of Dear Mr. Knightley |
| Alaska | Linnea Rain Lentfer wrote to Dia Calhoun, author of Eva of the Farm | Erin James wrote to Michael Grant, author of Hunger | Melissa Ihly wrote to Markus Zusak about The Book Thief |
| Arizona | Name withheld, wrote to Lois Lowry, author of The Giver | Ali Cohen wrote to Lois Lowry, author of The Giver | Sarah Knaub wrote to Kevin Anderson and Neil Peart, authors of Clockwork Angels |
| Arkansas | No state winner selected this year on this competition level | Megan Sledge wrote to R. J. Palacio about the book Wonder | Adrianne Owings wrote to Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt about the book Next to Normal |
| California | Anna Mytko wrote to Shel Silverstein about his poem “Hug-O-War” | Anne Overton wrote to J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter book series | Tola Akinwumi wrote to Harper Lee about her novel To Kill a Mockingbird |
| Colorado | Lexi Orr wrote to A.A. Milne, author of The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh | Julia Garfinkel wrote to Jerry Spinelli, author of Stargirl | Lauren Hallstrom wrote to poet Emily Dickinson about her poem “This is My Letter to the World” |
| Connecticut | Aleema Kelly wrote to Kristin Levine, author of Lions of Little Rock | Mike Vasconcelos wrote to Paul Shirley about his book Can I Keep my Jersey? | Erica Gonsiewski wrote to Ned Vizzini about his book It’s Kind of a Funny Story |
| Delaware | McKenna Norton wrote to Katie Smith Milway about the book One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference | No state winner selected this year on this competition level | Taylor Bradfield wrote to J. K. Rowling about her series of Harry Potter novels. |
| District of Columbia | Julia Poggi wrote to John Green, author of Paper Towns | Grace Dodd wrote to the anonymous author of Beowulf | Lisa Le wrote to Amy Tan about her novel The Joy Luck Club |
| Florida | Anamilena Tamariz wrote to Malala Yousafzai author of I Am Malala | Eiko Alzamora wrote Antoine De Saint-Exupery about the book The Little Prince | Chandler Valdez wrote to Demi Lovato, author of Staying Strong 365 Days a Year |
| Georgia | Sidney Silver wrote to Leon Leyson about The Boy on the Wooden Box | Jessica Pan wrote to Deborah Ellis about her book Breadwinner | Kendall Lake wrote to Kate Chopin, author of The Awakening |
| Hawaii | Nokiya Liu wrote to Lemony Snicket about his books in the Series of Unfortunate Events | No state winner selected this year on this competition level | Natalie Uhr wrote to Sebold, author of The Lovely Bones |
| Idaho | Jeneva Dredge wrote to Jessica Day George about Princess of the Midnight Ball | Catherine Ji wrote to Rainbow Rowell about Eleanor and Park | Miles Maxcer wrote to Michael Crichton about Jurassic Park |
| Illinois | Cameron Hailstone wrote to Mr. Lamb and Mr. Ellsworth, authors of Pujols: More Than the Game | Claudia Hope Levens wrote to J. K. Rowling about her series of Harry Potter novels. | Aidan Kingwell wrote to Mary Oliver about her poem “When Death Comes” |
| Indiana | Grace Yang wrote to Lucy Maud Montgomery, author of Anne of Green Gables | Meghan McMullen wrote to J. R. R. Tolkien about Lord of the Rings | Cassie Ratliff wrote to Antoine de Saint-Exupery, author of The Little Prince |
| Iowa | Brenna Coleman wrote to Kathryn Erskine about her novel Mockingbird | Lillian Grouws wrote to Kathryn Erskine about her novel Mockingbird | Hannah V. Boyens wrote to author Carson McCullers about The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter |
| Kansas | No state winner selected this year on this competition level | Margaret Veglahn wrote to Harper Lee about her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird | Melanie Hiraki wrote to Eric Brende, author of Better Off: Flipping the Switch on Technology |
| Kentucky | Katherine Wilson wrote to Mark Zusak, author of The Book Thief | Summer Mohamed wrote to Malala Yousafzai about her book I Am Malala | Gabrielle Townsend wrote to Charlotte Bronte about her novel, Jane Eyre |
| Louisiana | Peter Menard wrote to Rick Riordan about his book The Lightning Thief | Ewan Todt-Tutchener wrote to Max Brooks, author of World War Z | Hayden Brewster wrote to John Boyne about his novel, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas |
| Maine | Elizabeth (Lacey) Brune wrote to Cece Bell, author of El Deafo | Gabriel Ferris wrote to Walter Isaacson, author of Steve Jobs | Rosemary Wood wrote to Stephen Chbosky about his novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower |
| Maryland | Dhruv Pai wrote to Daniel Handler (a.k.a. Lemony Snicket), about his Series of Unfortunate Events books. | Juliana Gorman wrote to Elie Wiesel, author of Night | Norman Xiong wrote to Amy Tan about her book The Joy Luck Club |
| Massachusetts | Andy Dimnaku wrote to Jerry Spinelli about Jake and Lily | Isabelle Tinti-Kane wrote to Rick Riordan about The Red Pyramid | A tie! Tara Pascal wrote to Malcolm X about The Autobiography of Malcolm X and Elizabeth Wig wrote to Jack Prelutsky about “The Moth” |
| Michigan | Soja Kureekkattil wrote to Malala Yousafzai about her book I Am Malala | Ellie Martin wrote to Jerry Spinelli about his book Stargirl | Rashna Soonavala wrote to WilliamWordsworth about his poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud.” |
| Minnesota | Sara Nadian wrote to Suzanne LaFleur, author of Love, Aubrey | Soren Eversoll wrote to Arthur Conan Doyle about his many books featuring Sherlock Holmes | Taylor Ogren wrote to Jhumpa Lahiri, author of The Namesake |
| Mississippi | Micaiah Pugh wrote to Christopher Paul Curtis, author of The Watsons Go to Birmingham |
Kyndall Hardeman wrote to Russell Freedman, author of Freedom Walkers | Katie Martin wrote to Kathryn Lasky, author of the The Guardians of Ga’Hoole series |
| Missouri | Lauren Xie wrote to Michael Grant, author of Gone | Bradley Kerr wrote to Alan Gratz, author of Prisoner B-3087 | Lewis Kelley wrote to Joseph Heller, author of Catch-22 |
| Montana | Sula Duncan wrote to Kirby Larsen about her novel, Hattie Big Sky | Christopher “Kit” Munson wrote to Ray Bradbury, author of Fahrenheit 451 | Marcene Piper Robison wrote to William Boniface, author of Mystery in Bug Town |
| Nebraska | Emma Harner wrote to Karen Hesse, author of A Time of Angels | Owen Morrow wrote to Mike Lupica about his book Heat | Ashley Xiques wrote to Leigh Bardugo |
| Nevada | Charlotte Thaler wrote to Robyn Schneider, author of The Beginning of Everything | Tazreean Ahmed wrote to Christopher Paul Curtis about the book Bud, Not Buddy |
Camille Carter wrote to Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird |
| New Hampshire | Zachary Cassidy wrote to Robert Lawson, about his books, Rabbit Hill and The Tough Winter | Emmy Goyette wrote to Laurie Halse Anderson, author of Speak | Joonho Jo wrote to Chinua Achebe, author of Things Fall Apart |
| New Jersey | Gerel Sanzhikov wrote to Wendelin Van Draanen, author of The Running Dream | Jonathan Hoff wrote to Art Spiegelman, author of Maus | Monica Gu, wrote to Emily Brontë, author of Wuthering Heights |
| New Mexico | Kayla Ayala wrote to Janet Shaw, author of The Silent Stranger | Arielle Moosman wrote to Katherine Paterson, author of Bridge to Terabithia | Michaela Bluedorn wrote to Erin Hanson, author of the poem “The Storyteller” |
| New York | Julianna Yu wrote to Markus Zusak, author of The Book Thief | Helen Schauffler wrote to Rainbow Rowell, author of Eleanor and Park | Aissatou Toure wrote to Rick Riordan, author of The Lightning Thief |
| North Carolina | Caroline Pyle wrote to Gordon Korman, author of Schooled | Erin Price wrote to Rebecca Stead, author of When You Reach Me | Darian Boyd wrote to Margaret Peterson Haddix about her novel Running Out of Time |
| North Dakota | No state winner selected this year on this competition level | No state winner selected this year on this competition level | Hanayh Mann wrote to John Green about The Fault in Our Stars |
| Ohio | Nathan Shepard wrote to R. J. Palacio concerning her novel, Wonder | John Victor Pan wrote to author Shel Silverstein concerning his novel, The Giving Tree | Maxwell Figley wrote to author Shel Silverstein concerning his novel, The Giving Tree |
| Oklahoma | Luke Kymes wrote to Jim Davis, author of the Garfield series of books | Molly Griggs wrote to Jay Asher about his novel, Thirteen Reasons Why | Kendall Odle wrote to Veronica Roth, author of Divergent |
| Oregon | Vicky Siah wrote to J.R.R. Tolkien about The Hobbit | Sophie Ciurlik Rittenbaum wrote to Markus Zusak, author of The Book Thief | Hannah DesChamp wrote to Pablo Neruda about his poem, “I Do Not Love You Except Because I Love You” |
| Pennsylvania | Maxwell Brenneman wrote to C. S. Lewis, author of The Magician’s Nephew | Christine A. Troll wrote to George Orwell about his book Animal Farm | Alison Dalafave wrote to J. K. Rowling, author of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows |
| Rhode Island | Jayna Barrette wrote to J. K. Rowling, author of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone | Hannah Capron wrote to Laura Ingalls Wilder, about her book Little House on the Prairie |
Miranda Zito wrote to Tommie DePaola, author of Strega Nona |
| South Carolina | Lindsey Knott wrote to Thanhha Lai, author of Inside Out and Back Again | Audrey Royall wrote to J. K. Rowling about her series of Harry Potter books | Shelley Sasser wrote to Mark Twain about his book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn |
| South Dakota | No state winner selected this year on this competition level | Zindeh Scere wrote to Lucy Maud Montgomery, author of Anne of Green Gables | Connor DeJong wrote to Gary Paulson about his novel Hatchet |
| Tennessee | Sophia Floyd wrote to Clare Vanderpool about her book Moon Over Manifest |
Ansley Stamper wrote to Wendy Mass, author of A Mango Shaped Space | Kelsey Bowen wrote to Lois Lowry about her novel The Giver |
| Texas | Charlie Daly wrote to Audrey Penn about The Kissing Hand | Lily Miggins wrote to e. B. White about Charlotte’s Web | Amanda Ochu wrote to Shane Koyczan about the poem “To This Day” |
| Utah | Mary Bocock wrote to R.J. Palacio about the book Wonder | Julane Machado wrote to Lewis Carroll about Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland | Madeleine Andersen wrote to David Foster Wallace about his commencement speech, “This Is Water.” |
| Vermont | No state winner selected this year on this competition level | Tasia Lafond wrote to John Green about The Fault in our Stars | No state winner selected this year on this competition level |
| Virginia | Chelsea Brown wrote to Sandra L. Pinkney, about her book, Shades of Black | Laura Huggins wrote to Jenifer Ringer, author of Serenade | Ailaina Turner wrote to Ray Bradbury about his short story “All Summer in a Day” |
| Washington | Alison Amirault wrote to Rob Buyea, author of Because of Mr. Terupt | Emily Cordero wrote to Chris d’Lacey about the book The Fire Within | Teresa Zhan wrote to Laurie Halse Anderson about her novel Wintergirls |
| West Virginia | Devlin Daugherty wrote to Rick Riordan about Percy Jackson and the Olympians | Kayla Brown wrote to Dave Pelzer about his book A Child Called ‘It’ | Jamey Perrine wrote to Gail Carson Levine about her novel Ella Enchanted |
| Wisconsin | Mei Hippe wrote to Ayn Rand, author of Anthem | Elena Deslongchamps wrote to Charles Dickens, author of Great Expectations |
Devon Hucek wrote to Ayn Rand about her novel The Fountainhead |
| Wyoming | Julianna Preston wrote to Wilson Rawls, author of Where the Red Fern Grows | No state winner selected this year on this competition level | A tie! William V. Day wrote to Ellen Wittlinger, author of Hard Love and Bryon Lincoln wrote to Mitch Albom, about his book Tuesdays with Morrie |
