2023 Century Fence Writing Contest Guidelines
- This contest is open to all middle school and high school students in Waukesha County.
- Contest entries should be thoughtful, well-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.
- Submissions must be of unpublished original work.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 be given credit 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 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.
- Please submit only one essay or poem. Multiple entries will not be considered.
- All entries must be received by October 1, 2023.
2023 Century Fence Writing Contest Topic:
The famous Wisconsin writer Laura Ingalls Wilder said, “A good laugh overcomes more difficulties and dissipates more dark clouds than any other one thing.” So, for this year’s contest, we challenge you to dissipate dark clouds!
For essays: Write about a specific event that made you laugh and the good that resulted from it OR write about how you made someone else laugh and how that helped OR write about humor in general.
For poetry: In general, many believe that poetry is a serious thing. But there are many humorous poets, such as Shel Silverstein, Dr. Seuss and Charles Bukowski. Write a poem about something humorous that happened, OR write a poem intended to make people laugh.
Entries should be submitted to:
2023 Century Fence Student Writing Contest
UWM At Waukesha Foundation, Inc.
1500 N. University Drive
Waukesha, WI 53188
Or emailed to:
info@sewibookfest.com