*** 2024 WRITING CONTEST WINNERS ***
WISCONSIN RESIDENTS: WE WANT TO READ YOUR POETRY & FICTION!
The 2025 writing contests will open in January.
Next Contest Opens: JANUARY 15, 2025
Entry fee: $10 Academy members / $15 non-members
Judges: To Be Announced
- 1st-place winners receive a one-week artist residency at Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts in Mineral Point.
- Win cash prizes: $500 for 1st place, $250 for 2nd place, and $100 for 3rd place.
- Read at the 2024 Wisconsin Book Festival.
- 1st-3rd-place winners are published in print and online issues of Wisconsin People & Ideas magazine.
ABOUT OUR CONTESTS
Since 1994, Wisconsin People & Ideas magazine has sponsored the premiere annual fiction and poetry contests for Wisconsin writers. The contests are open to all Wisconsin residents and students age 18 and older. We encourage emerging and established writers to send in their best works of fiction and poetry for a chance to win up to $500 and other prizes along with publication in Wisconsin People & Ideas, a reading at the Wisconsin Book Festival in Madison, and a one-week residency at the lovely Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts in Mineral Point.
Congratulations to the
2024 Fiction and Poetry Contest Winners
Fiction Winners
1st Place
Bob Wake, Cambridge
"Mending Ruth"
2nd Place
C.E. Perry, Madison
"Baby Teeth"
3rd Place
Linda Falkenstein, Madison
"Complications from a Fall"
Fiction Honorable Mentions
David Tabachnick, Madison, "Meeting Martha Graham"
Poetry Winners
1st Place
Diya Abbas, Madison
"Al-Eashiq"
2nd Place
Han Raschka, Madison
"grand(father) sheds his grudges"
3rd Place
Lisa Vihos, Sheboygan
"Bodies of Water"
Poetry Honorable Mention
Scott Lowery, Milwaukee, "Woman on a Bus"
Contest Support
Thanks to our 2024 contest judges Sean Enfield (fiction) and Dorothy Chan (poetry). All contest judging is done blindly and the winning submissions are selected through criteria established by individual judges. The 2024 contests were administered by Matt Rezin, Operations Manager. Thanks also to the Wisconsin Academy donors, members, and the following contest sponsors for their support of Wisconsin writers:
2024 WP&I Fiction Finalists
Linda Falkenstein, Madison
Kate Maude, River Falls
C.E. Perry, Madison
Eric Rasmussen, Eau Claire
Allison Slavick, Cable
Victoria Lynn Smith, Superior
Exeter Stevens, Hartford
David Tabachnick, Madison
Bob Wake, Cambridge
2024 WP&I Fiction Semifinalists
Sally Collins, Baileys Harbor
Mark R. Emmerling, Baileys Harbor
Linda Falkenstein, Madison
Steve Fox, Hudson
Kate Maude, River Falls
C.E. Perry, Madison
Eric Rasmussen, Eau Claire
Robert Russell, Madison
George Savage, Madison
Allison Slavick, Cable
Victoria Lynn Smith, Superior
Exeter Stevens, Hartford
David Tabachnick, Madison
Bob Wake, Cambridge
Suzanne Zipperer, Manitowoc
2024 WP&I Poetry Finalists
Diya Abbas, Madison
Nancy Bauer-King, Racine
Jenny Benjamin, Milwaukee
G.R. Collins, Sun Prairie
Thomas J. Erickson, Whitefish Bay
Scott Lowery, Milwaukee
C E Perry, Madison
Carolyn Pralle, Wisconsin Rapids
Han Raschka, Madison
Rita Mae Reese, Madison
Robert Russell, Madison
Lailah Shima, Madison
Lisa Vihos, Sheboygan
Angela Williamson Emmert, Manawa
Marilyn Windau, Sheboygan Falls
2024 WP&I Poetry Semifinalists
Diya Abbas, Madison
Nancy Bauer-King, Racine
Jenny Benjamin, Milwaukee
G.R. Collins, Sun Prairie
Thomas J. Erickson, Whitefish Bay
Scott Lowery, Milwaukee
Kurt Olsson, Milwaukee
C E Perry, Madison
Carolyn Pralle, Wisconsin Rapids
Han Raschka, Madison
Rita Mae Reese, Madison
Georgia Ressmeyer, Sheboygan
Jenna Rindo, Pickett
Robert Russell, Madison
Lailah Shima, Madison
Lynn Patrick Smith, Madison
Pierce Stastney, Mequon
Lisa Vihos, Sheboygan
Angela Williamson Emmert, Manawa
Marilyn Windau, Sheboygan Falls
