The Wisconsin Writers Awards are now stewarded by Arts & Literature Laboratory. Deadline for awards for work published in 2023 is January 31, 2024.
Seven of the eight annual Wisconsin Writers Awards are judged by a writing professional who resides outside the state and are accompanied by a prize of $500. The lone exception, the Young Writers Award, is judged by the ALL Literary Arts curatorial team and is accompanied by a prize of $250. In addition, our First Prize winners (excluding the Young Writers, Major Achievement, and Sholes awards) receive a 5-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 prize of $50 and, in all categories except the Young Writers Award, a 5-day residency at Ernest Hüperden’s Painted Forest in Valton, WI.
The Wisconsin Writers Awards are open to Wisconsin residents or writers who have lived for a significant period in the state for work published in the contest calendar year. A resident is defined as a person who maintains a permanent residence in Wisconsin or who has had at least six months of continuous residence in the state during the contest year. Anyone may submit a work written by a Wisconsin resident. See full guidelines here.
Annual Awards
Edna Ferber Fiction Book Award
The Edna Ferber Fiction Book Award is given to the best fiction book published by a Wisconsin-based author in the contest year.
Norbert Blei/August Derleth Nonfiction Book Award
The Norbert Blei/August Derleth Nonfiction Book Award is given to the best nonfiction book published by a Wisconsin-based author in the contest year.
Edna Meudt Poetry Book Award
The Edna Meudt Poetry Book Award is given to the best book of poems published by a Wisconsin-based author in the contest year.
Arthur Tofte/Betty Ren Wright Children’s Literature Award
The Arthur Tofte/Betty Ren Wright Children’s Literature Award is given to the Best Children’s Book published by a Wisconsin-based writer in the contest year.Zona Gale Award for Short Fiction
The Zona Gale Award for Short Fiction goes to the best piece of short fiction published by a Wisconsin-based author in the contest year.
The Kay W. Levin Award for Short Nonfiction
The Kay W. Levin Award for Short Nonfiction goes to the best piece of short nonfiction published by a Wisconsin-based author in the contest year.
Lorine Niedecker Poetry Award
The Lorine Niedecker Poetry Award is prize of $500 awarded for a group of poems one of which must be published in the contest year. The judge may designate up to one honorable mention, or may decide to make no award. The honorable mention recipient will receive $50.