Passing on the good news from Heidi Bryant at Sonnet Central!
| 2026 Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest Call for Entries Entries are now being accepted for the 2026 Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest. The entry process is a one-step system. Sonnet(s) must be submitted with the Entry Form. Complete instructions for entering are available on our website. The Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest is an annual event that welcomes entries from around the world. Cash prizes, totaling over $3,000, will be awarded in several categories, including:Top Four SonnetsRegional (Four Winners – Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa)Best Youth (Four Winners – High School and Younger)Laureate’s Choice (Sixteen Winners)There is a $5 FEE for up to three sonnets per entry. There is NO FEE for entrants in the Youth category (high school and younger) or for undergraduate college students. For complete contest information, visit:sonnetcontest.org The deadline for entries is June 1, 2026. Submissions must be made through our on-line process, with payment option by PayPal or check. If the entry fee presents a hardship, please send us an email. entries@sonnetcontest.org About the Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest The Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest is an annual event that welcomes entries from around the world to Winona. The contest honors the memory of Maria W. Faust: a Winona State University graduate in Communications; a twenty-year resident of Winona; an avid supporter of varied local arts; and a lover of poetry. Ted Haaland, who passed away in 2024, endowed the contest to live on with the goal of keeping Maria’s love of poetry alive in our community and beyond.The contest judges are Winona’s Poets Laureate James Armstrong, Ken McCullough, and Emilio DeGrazia, and Leslie Schultz of Northfield, MN. Heidi Bryant is the managing director of the contest. Johanna Rupprecht and Ned Bryant assisted with the closing event. Great River Shakespeare Festival is a partner and River Arts Alliance acts as the fiscal sponsor. To learn more about the Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest, please visit sonnetcontest.org or email entries@sonnetcontest.org. Congratulations to the Winners of the 2025 Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest The winners of the 2025 Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest were announced at a hybrid in person / Zoom event held at the Winona County History Center on July 26, 2025. Many of the winners read their sonnets live over Zoom with the remaining sonnets being read by the Great River Shakespeare Festival’s Doug Scholz-Carlson and Melissa Maxwell. The video of the celebration can be viewed at sonnetcontest.org/events. The record breaking 2025 contest received entries from 18 countries and 41 states. Over 730 sonnets were submitted by 281 individuals, including 92 in the youth category. Prizes totaling $3,200 were awarded in the following categories: Top Four, Regional (4), Youth (4), and Laureates’ Choice (16). The winning sonnets are published on the website at sonnetcontest.org/2025-winners. TOP FOUR: Radnóti’s Notebook — Enriqueta Carrington (Highland Park, NJ); Love Song — Andrea L. Hackbarth (Palmer, AK); The Leveret — Cindy Hill (Middlebury, VT); and At the Oceanfront Hotel — Jean L. Kreiling (Plymouth, MA) .REGIONAL: Love’s Defense — Jeffry Glover (Stoughton, WI); Goat Song — D. E. Green (Northfield, MN); Fireworks — B. Haugen (Eden Prairie, MN), and Butterflies — Claude Clayton Smith (Madison, WI). YOUTH [entrants high school and under]: Unboxed Identity — Samantha Bernard (West Covina, CA); Failure Sonnet — Florian Shah (Philadelphia, PA); My Paper Kite — Parth Singla (Gurgaon, Haryana, India); Ars Poetica — Yan Zhang (Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China). LAUREATES’ CHOICE: A Watchman — Shamik Banerjee (Guwahati, Assam, India); Mrs. Darcy’s Duck — Susan Jarvis Bryant (Port Lavaca, TX); Coming Home — Monika Cooper (Weare, NH); Spring of Stone — Sijun Cui (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia); Purgatory — Michael Fleming (Brattleboro, VT); Wrong, Again — Philip Goldfarb Styrt (Davenport, IA); Cold Season — Michael Harty (Prairie Village, KS); Housework — Francesca Howard (New York, NY); In realms of memory, where shadows play — Kayliana Jackson (Columbus, MS); On Letting the Mystery Be — Carl Kinsky (Ste. Genevieve, MO); Interpersonal — Jason Ranek (Våle, Norway); Barriers for Light — Erica Reid (Fort Collins, CO); The Works, The Complete Works — Jason Sommer (St. Louis, MO); Merlin to Wounded Arthur — David Southward (Milwaukee, WI); Caeneus Syndrome — Rogelio Vargas (Winona, MN), and Autism Sonnet — Theresa Werba (Spring City, PA). As always, you can learn more about the Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest by visiting: sonnetcontest.org. Or send your questions to entries@sonnetcontest.org.Copyright © 2026 Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Maria W. Faust Sonnet ContestPO Box 992c/o River Arts AllianceWinona, Mn 55987Add us to your address book |
Thank you, dear Beth!
Will spreading the word , Leslie! I assume you are a judge again so good luck!