In languages that use alphabetical orthographies a printed word is first and foremost a string of letters. Skilled readers rapidly and accurately associate such letter strings with the appropriate sounds and meanings. This special issue presents cutting edge research investigating the mechanisms involved in coding letter identity and position in a string of letters, a prerequisite for successful reading. The research illustrated in this special issue aims to identify the solution adopted by literate brains to optimize processing of the special class of visual objects that we call words.