Click here for Poetry Contests in Wisconsin and elsewhere, listed by deadline date. Nota bene: this list is for your convenience only. WFOP should not be construed as endorsing or supporting these contests in any way; while many of them are both reputable and prestigious, poets should read the rules and conditions carefully before entering. Look for expositions of poetry contest scams on Google.

Student Contest
Deadline February 1
Student Rules   .doc

TRIAD Contest
Deadline August 1
Triad Rules   Entry Form   .doc

The first WFOP Chapbook Contest was judged by Oliver de la Paz. There were 22 entries. The winners are:

First Place: Heather Swan, Madison, The Edge of Damage
Runner-up: Karla Huston, Appleton, An Inventory of Lost Things

The 2010 Muse Prize for Excellence in Poetry was judged by Richard Terrill, whose new collection of poems is Almost Dark (University of Tampa Press). His previous books include Coming Late to Rachmaninoff, winner of the Minnesota Book Award; and two books of creative nonfiction, Fakebook: Improvisations on a Journey Back to Jazz, and Saturday Night in Baoding: A China Memoir, winner of the Associated Writing Programs Award for nonfiction. 27 non-members and 79 members entered.

First Place: Jeanie Tomasko, Middleton, “Until You Knew”
Second: Sherry Elmer, Hilbert, “Breathless”
Third: Susan Niemele Vollmer, Rice Lake, “Beauty Shop”

Honorable Mentions:
1st HM: Mary Wehner, Fond du Lac, “Composition in Low Light”
2nd HM: Karl Elder, Howards Grove, “A Natural History of the Muse”
3rd HM: Jerry Hauser, Green Bay, “Street of the Grizzly Bear”

The 2010 Student Contest had 229 middle school entries and 288 high school entries and was judged by F.J. Bergmann. Her work has been published in Alimentum, Beloit Poetry Journal, Margie, Opium, Southern Poetry Review, and other journals.

Senior Division: Grades 9-12

1st Place:
“This Paint Smells like Orange Peels," Jesse Olson, 11th grade, Osceola
2nd Place:
“Death Poem," Steven Bartel, 12th Grade, Coleman
3rd Place:
“The Reaping," Greer DuBois, 11th grade, Madison

Honorable Mentions:
“Our Meek and Horrid Future," Chelsea Lanphear, 12th grade, Wisconsin Rapids
"Paper Crane," Laura Wetzel, 10th grade, Stevens Point
"Textbook Taps," Braden Krien, 12th grade, Lake Geneva
"Spiderweb Symmetry" Sarah Swanson, 12th grade, Baileys Harbor
"Clubbing," Brittany Melsheimer, 12th grade, Port Washington
"Beneath Hurricane Eyes," Brandon Isaacsen, 12th grade, Sturgeon Bay
"High School," Tina Binns, 10th grade, Port Washington

1st Place:
"Feast of the Eternal Wolves," Sophie Hornung, 8th Grade, Appleton
2nd Place:
"Hide and Seek," Kate Ritchie, 7th grade, Eau Claire
3rd Place:
“I Wish," Jordyn Weum, 7th grade, Stoughton

Honorable Mentions:
"Monster," Zac Chart, 7th grade, Stoughton
"Country Sunset," Aidan McCarty, 7th grade, Elm Grove
"Hide And Seek," Connor Severson, 7th grade, Eau Claire
"Castle Room," Mathilda Harris, 6th grade, Madison