Council for Wisconsin Writers

Supporting Wisconsin writers from 1964 to 2022

BJ Hollars

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Wisconsin People & Ideas Announces Contest Winners
 Congratulations to the winners of our 2016 writing contests!


1st Place Fiction:
“Open House”
Allison Slavick, Cable
2nd Place Fiction:
“Lowlife”
Richard Borovsky, Madison
3rd Place Fiction:
“Weathering the Storm”
Lange Allen, Green Bay

1st Place Poetry:
“In the Science Museum”
Karen Loeb, Eau Claire
2nd Place Poetry:
“Nighthawks“
Janet Leahy, New Berlin
3rd Place Poetry:
“Head Cheese”
Nancy Bauer-King, Racine
Winners of the 2016 Wisconsin People & Ideas writing contests receive awards of $500 (first place), $250 (second place), and $100 (third place). The first-place author and poet also receive a one-week artist residency at Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts in Mineral Point. All award-winners are invited to read their works at the 2016 Wisconsin Book Festival in Madison, and each of the prize-winning stories and poems will appear in forthcoming issues of Wisconsin People & Ideas.
This year the fiction contest was judged author BJ Hollars, and the poetry contest was judged by Kimberly Blaeser. The 2016 contests were coordinated by Jason A. Smith, editor, Wisconsin People & Ideas, and the preliminary judges were Aaron Fai, John Lehman, and CX Dillhunt. All judging was done blindly and ranking was done solely on the merit of individual submissions in the opinion of our judges.
Thank you to everyone who submitted their work to the 2016 contests. Your participation is what has made these contests the best showcase for new and emerging Wisconsin writers for over twenty years. Look for the first-place prizewinning story and the first- through third-place prizewinning poems to appear in the forthcoming summer issue of Wisconsin People & Ideas. Honorable mention poems will appear in subsequent issues of the magazine, beginning with the fall 2016 issue. Congratulations to all our winners and honorable mention writers and poets—keep on writing!
2016 Fiction Contest Honorable Mentions 2016 Poetry Contest Honorable Mentions
“Red Truck” – Judith Barisonzi, Rice Lake “Cancer is Not Cosmic Justice” – Cynthia Belmont, Ashland
“Brother’s Pride” – Jeff Esterholm, Superior “Kindergarten Graduation” – Peter Burzynski, Milwaukee
“Remedy of Fortune” – Ingrid Kallick, Madison “Breakfast With Poets” – Janet Leahy, New Berlin
“LeighLeigh’s Story” – Marilyn Shapiro Leys, Prairie du Chein “Alligators in the Basement” – Jeri McCormick, Madison
“Mercy Mercy” – Olivia Sitter, Eau Claire “The Sighting” – Jeri McCormick, Madison
“Woman in the Third Space” – Kathleen Stark, Madison “Her Statement” – Georgia Ressmeyer, Sheboygan
“Kissing Marilyn Monroe” – Richard Roe, Middleton
“Dead Porcupine: No Metaphor” – Steve Tomasko, Middleton
“Working for Eugene” – Ann F. Wenzel, Madison
“Altar boy, circa 1959” – Ed Werstein, Milwaukee

Wisconsin People & Ideas thanks lead and preliminary judges for volunteering their time and efforts to the 2016 contest, and extends a special thanks to our writing contest sponsors Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts in Mineral Point for donating a weeklong artist residency for the first-place winner of each contest, the Wisconsin Book Festival for hosting our annual contest winners’ reading, andWisconsin Public Radio for promotional support. More information on the contests, prizes, and sponsors can be found at wisconsinacademy.org/contests.

Thanks to our contest sponsors!

About Wisconsin People & Ideas
Wisconsin People & Ideas publishes fiction and poetry from Wisconsin writers, highlights new works from our visual artists and photographers, and covers science and environmental issues that affect Wisconsin’s people, lands, and waters. The magazine hosts annual fiction and poetry contests that award up to $500, publication in the magazine, a reading at the Wisconsin Book Festival, and more. Since 1954, the independent Wisconsin People & Ideas magazine has been a trusted resource for people who care about the issues and ideas that shape life in Wisconsin. Wisconsin People & Ideas is available at Wisconsin Academy events and exhibitions as well as our James Watrous Gallery, and is delivered quarterly to Wisconsin Academy members and libraries across the state.
Wisconsin People & Ideas  l  1922 University Avenue  l  Madison, WI  53726  l  608.263.1692
Questions and manuscript submissions to:  jsmith@wisconsinacademy.org