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 theme listed below. 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners will be chosen from both the middle school and high school categories for essays and poems.
Prizes: 1st Place – $250
2nd place – $175
3rd Place – $75
The Southeast Wisconsin Festival of Books will be a virtual festival this year on Friday, Nov. 5 and Saturday, Nov.6. Details about the Century Fence Writing Contest Winners Awards Celebration will be announced in October.
Century Fence Contest Instructions
Century Fence Contest Instructions
2021 Theme: Pages, Passports & Portals
Our theme Pages, Passports & Portals looks at books as a way to learn about other places, other times and our environment. The Festival will have panels of writers whose books are about travel, the environment, history and our state of Wisconsin. These authors give us a broad horizon to explore new ideas through the diversity of books.
Use this year’s Festival of Books theme, “Pages, Passports & Portals,” in your essay or poem. Write about how a book transported you to another place or time or how has it taken you to a new understanding of your environment.
2021 Century Fence Contest Guidelines2021 Century Fence Student Writing Contest
- ontest entries should be thoughtful, well written essays of 600-750 words on the assigned topic 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.
- Submissions must be of unpublished original work. An essay or poem that has won a contest elsewhere will not be accepted
- Entries should reflect the original words and ideas of the writer. Quotations from an outside source or author must give be credit to that source by citing the author, publication, title and date. Plagiarism will be considered cause for elimination.
- To be eligible, each entry must be accompanied by the official Festival Contest Entry Form. This form must be filled out completely and signed both by the student and a parent or guardian. By completing and signing the entry form, a student certifies that it his or her own work. Please submit only one essay. Multiple entries will not be considered.
- All entries must be received by October 1, 2021.
- Entries should be mailed as follows:
2021 Century Fence Student Writing Contest Attn: Southeast Wisconsin Festival of Books Coordinator UWM at Waukesha Foundation, Inc. 1500 N. University Dr. Waukesha, WI 53188