The 2021Southeast Wisconsin Festival of Books closed Saturday, November 6, by announcing the outstanding student writers who have earned nearly $5,000 in writing contest prizes. Winners from the Duane Stein Short Story Writing Contest and the Century Fence Student Poetry Writing Contest are featured in a 30-minute video where the First Prize Winners read their work.
Three prizes were awarded in the Duane Stein Short Story Contest. Two prizes were awarded in the Century Fence Writing Contest.
Duane Stein Short Story Contest
First Place: Autumn Lee, senior at Brookfield Central High School
Award: $2,000 Story: Take Me Back
Second Place (tie): Adia Yoeckel, junior at Waukesha North High School
Award: $750 Story: She Used to be Flying
Paige Weber, sophomore at Slinger High School
Award: $750 Story: The Boy Called “E”
Century Fence High School and Middle School Poetry Contest
First Place: Harper Pugh, freshman at Waukesha West High School
Award: $250 Poem: Free Transportation
Second Place: Frankie Bartelt, freshman at Kettle Moraine High School
Award: $175 Poem: Letters, Words, Stories
The Duane Stein Short Story Contest honors Duane Stein, a beloved educator in the Waukesha School District from 1974 to 2011. Stein is well-known for his enthusiasm and encouragement in a variety of classes and in leading the Academic Decathlon Teams at Waukesha North High School and Waukesha West High School respectively. Over 40 high school and middle school student from all over the state entered short stories in the competition.
Drawing from the Festival theme, “Pages, Passports and Portals,” the Century Fence High School and Middle School Poetry Contest asked students to write about how a book transported them to another place or time or how has it taken them to a new understanding of their environment. The program can be viewed here.
