Updated guidelines: For the purposes of the contests, "Wisconsin writers" is defined as a current resident of Wisconsin OR someone who has lived in Wisconsin for five or more years.
- All submissions for categories except the Lorine Niedecker Poetry Award (partially) and the Young Writers Award must be published works. These works may be traditionally published or self-published by the author either in print or electronic form. Work published on a personal blog or personal website, however, will not satisfy the publication requirement.
- Translations, reprints, and/or works for which the submitter is the editor rather than the author are not eligible.
- Entries must have been published in the contest year. The publication date, not the copyright date, determines eligibility. (A work is published when it first appears in print and is made available to the public.)
- Authors may not submit multiple entries in any one category; however, authors may submit to multiple categories.
- Publishers may submit multiple entries in a single cateogry and/or in multiple categories.
- A winner may not submit in the same category two years in succession.
Seven of the eight annual Wisconsin Writers Awards are judged by a writing professional who resides outside the state (see judge info on individual award pages). All full-length book awards are accompanied by a prize of $1,000 ($30 submission fee); all other awards are accompanied by a prize of $500 ($25 submission fee). The lone exception, the Young Writers Award, is judged by the ALL Literary Arts team and is accompanied by a prize of $250 (free to submit). In addition, our First Prize winners (excluding the Young Writers) receive a five-day residency at Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts. Judges for each contest may designate a single honorable mention in their category or may decide to make no award. An Honorable Mention is accompanied by a cash prize and, in all categories except the Young Writers Award, a five-day residency at the Ernest Hüpeden's Painted Forest in Valton, WI.
The submission period for 2023 Awards for adults is November 1, 2023 through January 31, 2024 (postmarked by January 31). The submission period for the Young Writers Award is now open and will close on March 1, 2024.
Information on individual contests:
- Edna Ferber Fiction Book Award
- Edna Meudt Poetry Book Award
- Norbert Blei/August Derleth Nonfiction Book Award
- Tofte/Wright Children's Book Award
- Zona Gale Short Fiction Award
- Kay W. Levin Short Nonfiction Award
- Lorine Niedecker Poetry Award
- Wisconsin Young Writer's Award
Writers from historically resilient communities are encouraged to apply.
Checks will be awarded at the ceremony and winners will have a brief opportunity to read.
Winners may designate someone to accept the award on their behalf as well as to read a short excerpt from the winning piece. Note: Residencies awarded as prizes are not transferable.
For questions about the awards, including waivers for writers for whom the fee represents a hardship, please email ritamae@artlitlab.org.
Additional Rules:
Entry fees cannot be refunded. Entries not in conformity with the stated rules will be disqualified.
Judges will be asked to not consider entries from relatives, friends, and entrants with whom they have personal or professional relationships. Entries and fees disqualified on these grounds will not be returned to the entrants. Notification of disqualification will not be made.