2024 Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest Celebration
Saturday | July 27 | 11 am
Winona County History Center | 160 Johnson St. | Online via Facebook
sonnetcontest.org
The official end to the annual Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest is the announcement of the winners, a fun celebration hosted in person and online. The public is invited to attend on Saturday, July 27th at 11:00 am at the Winona County History Center. (It can also be viewed online on the Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest’s Facebook page.) The program will be led by emcee Rob Thomas, with winning sonnets being read either over Zoom by the winning poets or in person by the Great River Shakespeare Festival’s Doug Scholz-Carlson and the contest’s judges. Refreshments from the Blue Heron Coffeehouse will be provided at this free event. The winning sonnets will then be published on the website: sonnetcontest.org.
What started as a local contest sponsored by Winona’s First Poet Laureate and the Great River Shakespeare Festival has grown into an international phenomenon with a reach far beyond our community. The 2024 contest received entries from 10 countries and 40 states. Almost 650 sonnets were submitted by 180 individuals, including 68 in the youth category. Prizes totaling $3,200 were awarded in the following categories: Top Four, Regional (4), Youth (4), and Laureates’ Choice (16).
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. This year’s contest is bittersweet as it is the first without Maria’s husband, Ted Haaland, who passed away in February. Ted endowed the contest to continue into the future 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 and Johanna Rupprecht provides administrative support. 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.
Photo: Maria W. Faust.
River Arts Alliance serves as fiscal sponsor of the Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest. James Armstrong, Ken McCullough, Emilio DeGrazia, Heidi Bryant, and the Great River Shakespeare Festival are members of the River Arts Alliance. To learn more about the benefits of membership, please visit: riverartsalliance.org/membership/.