2023 Fiction Contest Guidelines
2023 Poetry Contest Guidelines
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.
2023 SEMI-FINALISTS
Poetry
Sherry Blakeley, Madison
Emily Bowles, Appleton
Esteban Colon, Kenosha
Steven Espada Dawson, Madison
Marnie Dresser, Spring Green
Adam Fell, Madison
Yvette Viets Flaten, Eau Claire
Janet Jennerjohn, Milwaukee
Robert Johnson, Viroqua
Taylor Kirby, Madison
Samantha Link, Milwaukee
K. E. McCoy, Madison
Michael McGarry Newhall, Milwaukee
Charles Payne, Madison
Amy Phimister, Sturgeon Bay
Matti Powers, Madison
Sakkara Athene Richards, Middleton
Roman Ryan, Madison
Kimberly Lynn Sailor, Mount Horub
Kelly R. Samuels, La Crosse
E. A. Scharenbroch, West Bend
Lailah Shima, Madison
R. B. Simon, Madison
Sheryl Slocum, Milwaukee
William Stobb, Onalaska
Guy Thorvaldsen, Madison
Tori Grant Welhouse, Green Bay
Katherine Yets, St. Francis
Catherine Young, Blue River
Fiction
Owen Aibric, Milwaukee
Margaret Benbow, Madison
Matt Cashion, La Crosse
Susanna Daniel, Madison
Steve Fox, Hudson
Kathryn Gahl, Brookfield
Elisabeth Harrahy, Oconomowoc
Holly Hilliard, Madison
Nancy Jesse, Madison
C. Kubasta, Mineral Point
Laurel Landis, Wauwatosa
Karen Loeb, Eau Claire
Nina Macheel, Beaver Dam
Tyler Marchant, Stevens Point
Andrew McCuaig, Madison
John Mulvihill, New Glarus
Joseph Rein, River Falls
Kim Suhr, Wales
John Thurgood, Milwaukee
Howard Veregin, Stoughton
Melissa Westemeier, Appleton
Richard Zaborowske, Appleton
Thanks to our 2023 contest judges Debra Monroe (fiction) and Nikki Wallschlaeger (poetry). All contest judging is done blindly and the winning submissions are selected through criteria established by individual judges. The contests are administered by Christopher Chambers, interim editor of Wisconsin People & Ideas. Thanks also to the Wisconsin Academy donors, members, and the following contest sponsors for their support of Wisconsin writers:
