Century Fence Student Writing Contest

Century Fence
Middle and High School Student Writing Contest

This contest is open to all middle school and high school students in Waukesha County. Students will submit an original essay or poem based on the prompt listed below. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners will be chosen from the middle school and high school categories for essays and poems.

All winners will be announced at the 2024 Southeast Wisconsin Festival of Books Awards Ceremony at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee at Waukesha. The ceremony will take place during a reception on Friday, November 8 at 7 pm.

2024 Century Fence Writing Contest Guidelines

1. Contest entries should be thoughtful, professionally written essays of 600-750 words on the assigned topic, below, for high school students and up to 400-500 words for middle school students. Poems can be of any length, but should not exceed the word limits of 750 words for high school students or 500 words for middle school students. Entries should be single spaced and may be typed or legibly hand written.
2. Submissions must be of unpublished original work. An essay or poem that has won a contest elsewhere will not be accepted.
3. Entries should reflect the original words and ideas of the writer. Quotations from an outside source or author must be given credit by citing the author, publication, title, and date. Plagiarism will deem your entries subject to elimination.
4. To be eligible, each entry must be accompanied by the official Festival Contest Entry Form. This form must be filled out completely and signed by both the student and a parent or guardian. By completing and signing the entry form, a student certifies that it is his or her own work.
5. Please submit only one essay or poem. Multiple entries will not be considered.
6. All entries must be received by October 6, 2024.

Century Fence Contest Prompts 2024 (Essay and Poetry)

THE POWER OF THE WORD
“Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate, and to humble.” -Yehuda Berg

Write about the power of the word, whether that word is written, spoken, or heard. You could write about when your own words have had an impact on others, or when words have had an impact on you. Did that impact happen through a novel, or a poem, an essay, or an article? Did you hear someone say something and it just stuck with you? The power of the word – what does this mean to you?

Entries should be submitted to:

2024 Century Fence Student Writing Contest
UWM At Waukesha Foundation, Inc.
1500 N. University Drive
Waukesha, WI 53188

Or emailed to:
info@sewibookfest.com