Short Story Contest

Submit your short stories to the Wisconsin People & Ideas/Wisconsin Book Festival Poetry Contest and win cash prizes and publication!

Send in your short stories for your chance to win cash prizes of $500 (first place), $250 (second place), and $100 (third place), publication in an award-winning magazine, and travel to Madison to read your award-winning stories as a special Wisconsin Book Festival reading! First- through third-place winning stories will appear in print and online issues of Wisconsin People & Ideas, beginning with the summer 2012 issue. The first-place winner also receives a one-week artist residency at Shake Rag Alley School for Arts and Crafts in Mineral Point and a manuscript review by a national publisher of note. Any Wisconsin resident or student over the age of 18 can enter. See complete rules below.

This year's lead contest judge is Milwaukee author Robert Vaughan (left). The contest is coordinated by Wisconsin People & Ideas editor Jason A. Smith, and preliminary contest judges include

• Phil Busse - Madison
• Sheila Hanrahan - Whitefish Bay
• Mary "Casey" Martin - Wisconsin Rapids

All judging is done blindly and ranking is done solely on the merit of individual stories. Thank you to our lead and preliminary judges for volunteering their time and efforts to the 2012 contest.

SHORT STORY CONTEST RULES

1. Authors must reside in or attend school in Wisconsin.
2. Stories must be between 2,500 and 5,000 words in length.
3. Authors must submit three copies of a story (photocopies are fine).
4. Each story must be accompanied by a $20 entry fee (non-Academy members) or $15 (Academy members, including those who join while submitting an entry) payable to Wisconsin People & Ideas Short Story Contest.
5. Writers may submit more than one entry, but each story must be mailed in separately with its own cover letter (see Rule 9) and entry fee.
6. Entries must be postmarked on or before December 15, 2011. Entries may be hand-delivered to the Wisconsin Academy (1922 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53726) by 5:00pm on December 15, 2011. Entries postmarked after the deadline will not be considered and the entry fee will be retained to cover handling.
7. Previously published stories (in print) are not eligible.
8. Each manuscript must be typed, double-spaced, in standard 10- or 12-point type. Each page must include the title of the story as a header. All pages must be numbered with both an individual page number and the total number of pages (e.g., Stormy Night, page 1/15, Stormy Night, page 2/15, Stormy Night, page 3/15, etc.).
9. The author's name may not appear anywhere on the manuscript itself. The manuscript must be accompanied by a letter bearing the story title; the author's name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address (if available); and the story word count. Every contestant must be able to provide an electronic version of the story if needed, either on disk or via e-mail.
10. Keep a copy of your manuscript! Manuscripts will be recycled, not returned. Do not send an SASE.
11. Contest winners will be announced on our website www.wisconsinacademy.org and notified by May 2012. The three winners will be published in the summer 2012, fall 2012, and winter 2013 issues of Wisconsin People & Ideas.