Submission Window Opens: JANUARY 15, 2026
Entry fee: $10 Academy members / $15 non-members
Submission Deadline: MARCH 15, 2026
Prizes
- 1st-place winners of the Wisconsin People & Ideas Fiction Contest will receive a five-day artist residency at Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts in Mineral Point.
- Cash prises of $500 for 1st place, $250 for 2nd place, and $100 for 3rd place will be awarded.
- All winners are invited to read their work at the Wisconsin Book Festival in October 2026.
- All winners will be published in print and online issues of Wisconsin People & Ideas magazine.
Eligibility
- Authors must be age 18 or older and reside or attend school in Wisconsin.
- All submissions must be original and previously unpublished work. Authors attest that they are the sole authors of the work and that AI was not implemented in its creation.
- Current Wisconsin Academy staff, board, and Foundation board members are not eligible. If you have questions about eligibility, please be in touch: [email protected].
Fiction Guidelines
- Submissions must be fewer than 6,000 words.
- Cover page must include
- story title
- word count
- author's name
- address
- phone number
- email address
- Fiction manuscript must be typed and double-spaced with 1” margins using a 12-point, clearly readable font. For example: Times New Roman, Garamond, etc.)
- Please number pages and include a header on each page with the title of the story. Do not include your name on the manuscript.
- Only include one story per entry. You may submit multiple entries - each additional entry requires additional contest fees.
- All submissions are judged anonymously.
Fiction Contest Judge: Nickolas Butler
Meet this year's judge!
Nickolas Butler is an internationally beloved author.
His novel Shotgun Lovesongs has been translated into over ten languages and
his latest novel A Forty Year Kiss is called a "once in a lifetime love story."
Learn more here.
Contest Submission
Click the button to register for the 2026 writing contest. After registering and paying the entry fee, you will receive a confirmation email (from [email protected]) with a link. Use the link to submit your work via an online portal called AirTable.
Paper Mail-In Option
If you are able, we encourage you to submit online.
- To mail your work, use the above Fiction Guidelines. Include a check for payment.
- Paper submissions must be postmarked, delivered, or date-stamped by 11:59 pm CT on the contest due date. Submissions postmarked or hand-delivered after the deadline will not be considered and the entry fee will be retained to cover handling.
- Keep a copy of your manuscript. Paper manuscripts will be recycled, not returned. If you are able, we encourage you to submit online rather than in print.
- Every contestant must be able to provide an electronic version of their manuscript by email if needed.
Entries may be mailed or hand-delivered to
Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters
1922 University Avenue
Madison, WI 53726
