Sonnet Competition: The Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest--2015

Announcing the Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest – 2015 

This year's Contest, our eighth, again celebrates the memory of Maria W. Faust, a lover of poetry and a passionate supporter of the Great River Shakespeare Festival. The Sonnet Contest has attracted poets from across the United States as well as international entrants. Contest activities this year will include an Opening Event that features a discussion and sharing of sonnet forms, and a Closing Award Ceremony including the reading of prize-winning sonnets and recognition of winning poets, which will conclude this year's Contest. 

RULES AND GUIDELINES:

Cash prizes, totaling $2,000, will be awarded in a number of categories, including:
• Best Overall
• Best Youth (High School & Younger)
• Laureate's Choice
• Local Area (Winona and adjacent counties)
• Honorable Mention

Sonnets may be written in Shakespearean, Petrarchan, Spenserian or Non-traditional form. Only previously unpublished sonnets are eligible. There is no entry fee and each entrant may submit one to three sonnets, maximum, with sonnets to be received no later than June 1st. 

Entries may be submitted in one of two ways:

(1) Either by U.S. or international mail to:

Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest of the GRSF
Ted Haaland, Director
P.O. Box 827
Winona, MN 55987-0827

Submissions will not be returned. Do not include your name on the sonnets; however, please include a separate information sheet with your name, address, email, phone number, the title(s) of your sonnet(s), your age (if entering the High School & Younger), and how you heard about the contest. Each sonnet should be on its own page. Place the title or the first line if it is your title on the top of the page, then skip two double-spaces and add all fourteen lines of your sonnet, double-spacing each line.

(2)Via the forms found at the bottom of the webpage.

Winners will be announced August 1st online. 

THE OPENING EVENT, and THE CLOSING AWARD CEREMONY:

The Opening Event

The Sonnet Contest "Kick-Off" is planned for April 7th at 7 PM in Winona at the Blue Heron Coffee House, on 2nd Street, and will include readings by Winona Poets Laureate, past and present, as well as activities involving those able to attend The public is cordially invited.

The Closing Award Ceremony

The free reception Award Ceremony will be the closing Great River Shakespeare Festival Front Porch Event Saturday, August 1, 2015 at 11:00 AM at Winona State University. Mark your calendars for readings by members of the Great River Shakespeare Festival and an opportunity to meet some of the poets, as well as special music and coffee and snacks.