Please Note: this information is from last year's Institute. Save the date: the 2013 Writers' Institute will be held April 12, 13, and 14.
Writing Contest
Poem or Page Contest—deadline March 8, 2012
Need a nudge to jump-start your writing? Enter the “Poem or Page Contest”
Take the plunge! Have fun. We’ll provide accolades and prizes.
What are our criteria for a winning poem or page? Hook us! We’re looking for the same thing agents and editors look for when you submit material to them—that instant good impression showing attention to craft. But any agent or editor is also looking for that “something extra” and so are we. It might be a wondrous word choice or line of words, a great “voice” on the page, a piece of action that’s riveting, a fact that wows the reader, a piece of imagery, or any number of things of your choosing. Give us something credible, yet original. Make us worry or wonder. Startle us.
Who may enter: Contest open ONLY to those attending the Writers’ Institute, April 13-15, 2012. You may enroll in only one day and still be eligible for the contest.
Entrants may submit in the following categories:
- Poetry—one poem, single-spaced. 12-point Times New Roman or Courier.
- Mainstream/literary fiction
- Genre fiction (mystery, romance, horror, etc.)
- Young adult fiction
- Nonfiction books or articles
For categories 2-5, please submit the first page of your work. (If you have a prologue, submit the prologue’s first page because that’s the first page of your work.)
Format rules for fiction/nonfiction categories:
Please use 12-point Courier or Times New Roman typeface, with one-inch margins on all four sides. Please double-space; 1.5 spacing will be disqualified. Please list your category on the entry, front or back. Put your name and address on the back side of the page; do not put your name on the front. You may fill up the page, though please keep one-inch margins on all four sides.
Entry fee: $15 per entry, all categories. Please pay through our Registration Office, 608-262-2451.
Deadline and where to send entries:
Entries must be postmarked by March 8, 2012. Send your entries to Writers’ Institute Contest, 21 N. Park St. Rm. 7331, Madison, WI 53715. If you wish to be notified that we’ve received your entry, enclose a Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope (SASE) or postcard.
Prizes
Enter as many categories and as many times as you wish. Prizes will be awarded. Winners and runners-up will be announced at the conference and may have their material displayed at the conference and online at our writer’s Web site: www.dcs.wisc.edu/lsa/writing.