Council for Wisconsin Writers

Supporting Wisconsin writers from 1964 to 2022

Jason A. Smith

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WI P&I Fiction Winners Announced

Here’s the magazine’s news release:
Congratulations to the Winners of the
Wisconsin People & Ideas 2015 Fiction Contest:

  • “Geography Lesson,” by Nikki Kallio—Hortonville
  • “Duck, Duck, Goose,” by Erika Kanesaka Kalnay—Madison
  • “Stones,” by Kathryn Gahl—Appleon
Winners of the Wisconsin People & Ideas 2015 Fiction Contest receive publication in the magazine and cash awards of $500 (first place), $250 (second place), and $100 (third place). The first-place author also receives a one-week artist residency at Shake Rag Alley School for Arts and Crafts in Mineral Point, and all three award-winning authors will read their stories at the 2015 Wisconsin Book Festival in Madison.
HONORABLE MENTION STORIES AND AUTHORS
“The Confession of Cassius Troy,” by Shaun Melarvie—Sturgeon Bay
“His First Revolution,” by William Lawlor—Stevens Point
“Enough,” by Melaney Poli—Waukesha
“Oh You Kids,” by Jonathan Hakes—Appleton
“Anna’s Quilt,” by Robert Holzman—Wautoma
“The Singing,” by Rheba K. Sanders—Oshkosh
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 cash prizes up to $500, publication in the magazine, and a reading at the Wisconsin Book Festival, and more.  Since 1954, the independentWisconsin 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 selected bookstores, and is delivered quarterly to Wisconsin Academy members and libraries across the state.
This year the fiction contest lead judge is author and poet Nickolas Butler (right). The 2015 contest was coordinated by Jason A. Smith, editor, Wisconsin People & Ideas, and Aaron Fai helped with preliminary judging. The contest received 82 short story submissions from across the state of Wisconsin. All judging was done blindly and ranking was done solely on the merit of individual stories in the opinion of our judges.

Thank you to everyone who submitted their work to the 2015 fiction contest. Your participation is what has made this contest one of the best showcases for Wisconsin writers for over a dozen years. Look for the first- through third-place short stories to appear in forthcoming issues ofWisconsin People & Ideas, beginning with the spring/summer double issue this July. Congratulations to all our winners and honorable mention authors—and keep on writing!

Wisconsin People & Ideas thanks lead and preliminary judges for volunteering their time and

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Authors, Poets to Read from Their Works

Here are a couple of events featuring Wisconsin poets and authors sponsored by the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences Arts & Letters:
FREE POETRY AND FICTION CONTEST READING
Friday, October 18, 5:00–7:00 pm at
A Room of One’s Own Bookstore, Madison
Join Wisconsin People & Ideas editor Jason A. Smith at the Wisconsin Book Festival for a reading by the 2013 poetry and fiction contest winners. Selected as the best from over four hundred entries, featured poets Geoffrey Collins (Marshall), William Quist (River Falls), and C.E. Perry (Madison), and authors Amy Baker (Blue Mounds), Rudy Koshar (Madison), and Geoffrey Collins (Marshall) will read their prize-winning works. Free and open to the public.
AN EVENING WITH MAX GARLAND 

Friday, October 18, 6:30–9:30 pm at the Eau Claire Golf & Country Club, Altoona
Join Wisconsin Poet Laureate Max Garland for a celebratory cocktail reception and three-course dinner during the Chippewa Valley Book Festival. For more information or to register, please contact the L. E. Phillips Memorial Public Library Reference Desk at 715-839-5004.

More about and for Wisconsin writers at www.wiswriters.org

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Short Story & Poetry Contest

The Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters Director of Communications and Wisconsin People & Ideas ditor Jason A. Smith sends about the following short story and poetry contest:

WIN BIG WITH THE 2012 WISCONSIN PEOPLE & IDEAS / WISCONSIN BOOK FESTIVAL SHORT STORY AND POETRY CONTESTS
Enter your poems and short stories in these annual contests, which are open to all Wisconsin residents and students until December 15, and you could win up to $500, a reading at the 2012 Wisconsin Book Festival, and other prizes along with publication in the award-winning Wisconsin People & Ideas. For more information and complete contest rules, visit www.wisconsinacademy.org/contests <http://www.wisconsinacademy.org/contests> .

Like the Council for Wisconsin Awards program, the Wisconsin Academy awards includes a writing residency at Shake Rag Alley Center for Arts and Crafts in Mineral Point.