Wisconsin Writers Awards Celebration

×

Expand

Robert D Beaverson

Pat Zietlow Miller

Everybody loves award shows, and this one — long on talent, short on the Giorgio Armani and Harry Winston — celebrates Wisconsin writers for works published in 2022. The night includes readings from the award winners (four for books; three for standalone short stories, poetry, and nonfiction; and one for writing by a Wisconsin high school student, plus honorable mention spots in all categories). Area first-place winners reading at the event include James Pollock, Kate Vieira and Pat Zietlow Miller, of Madison (and, on Zoom, Rhea Ewing, a former Madisonian); and Imani Fisher, of Monona.

media release: Arts & Literature Laboratory (ALL) is proud to announce recipients of the Wisconsin Writers Awards for works published in 2022. A reading by first-place winners and celebration will be held at ALL on Saturday, May 20, 2023 at 6 PM. The event is free and open to the public. Mystery to Me will be on hand to sell books at the event. 

The Wisconsin Writers Awards was established in 1964 and is Wisconsin’s longest-running literary award for published work. The eight awards include four awards for books, three awards for short form works including short stories, poetry, and nonfiction, and one special prize for writing by a Wisconsin high school student. The awards celebrate works published in 2022 by writers currently residing in or having lived for a significant period of time in Wisconsin (entries for the Wisconsin Young Writers Award need not have been previously published).  

First-place winners of the Wisconsin Writers Awards for work published in 2022 each receive $500 and a five-day writing residency at Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts in Mineral Point. Honorable mentions receive $50 and week-long residency at Ernest Hüpeden's Painted Forest in Wonewoc. Out-of-state judges made the decisions for each award.  

The Wisconsin Young Writers Award

Judged by the ALL Literary Arts Team

First Place: “Birthday Party” (poem) by Imani Fisher, Monona

Honorable Mention: “Stinky Fish” (personal essay) by Grace Huang, Madison

Edna Meudt Poetry Book Award

Judge: Mark Turcotte

First Place: Durable Goods (Véhicule Press/Signal Editions) by James Pollock, Madison

Honorable Mention: Jordemoder: Poems of a Midwife (Holy Cow! Press) by Ingrid Andersson, Madison  

The Lorine Niedecker Poetry Award

Judge: Tara Betts

First Place: “Barn Swallows” and other poems, Sky Island Journal, by Angela Williamson Emmert, Manawa

Honorable Mention: “Lake Edge, January,” The Hopper, and other poems, by Heather Swan, Madison  

The Edna Ferber Fiction Book Award

Judge: Alison Stine

First Place: The Net Beneath Us (Forge Books) by Carol Dunbar, Superior

Honorable Mention: Still True (University of Wisconsin Press) by Maggie Ginsberg, Blue Mounds

Zona Gale Award for Short Fiction

Judge: Dipika Mukherjee

First Place: “Sometimes Creek” (New Ohio Review) by Steve Fox, Hudson

Honorable Mention: “Beantown” (Acentos Review) by Jennifer Morales, Viroqua  

Norbert Blei/August Derleth Nonfiction Book Award

Judge: Harriet N. Brown

First Place: Fine: A Comic About Gender (Liveright) by Rhea Ewing, El Cerrito, California (formerly Madison)

Honorable Mention: The Green Hour: A Natural History of Home (University of Wisconsin Press) by Alison Townsend, Stoughton  

Kay W. Levin Award for Short Nonfiction

Judge: Ed Kemmick

First Place: "Someone Else's Language" (Guernica Magazine) by Kate Vieira, Madison

Honorable Mention: "A Headstone for Zach" (The Delacorte Review) by Lawrence Tabak, Madison  

Tofte/Wright Children’s Literature Award

Judge: Michelle Houts

First Place: See You Someday Soon (Roaring Brook Press) by Pat Zietlow Miller, Madison

Honorable Mention: Crossing the Pressure Line (Orange Hat Publishing) by Laura Anne Bird, Madison  

More information about our winners, judges, and guidelines can be found at https://artlitlab.org/programs/literary-arts/wisconsin-writers-awards.

The Wisconsin Writers Awards is a program of Arts and Literature Laboratory, a community-driven contemporary non-profit arts organization that supports the visual, literary, musical and performing arts, presents over 200 free or low-cost events per year, and offers year-round arts education for all ages. ALL nurtures innovation and the artistic growth of contemporary visual, literary, and performing artists; connects artists, resources and community; and fuels a passion for arts and literature. More information about ALL can be found at artlitlab.org.