Dust off those typewriters and haul out your calligraphy pens because the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, & Letters is hosting its annual literary contests. Two contests are held, offering Wisconsin-based writers the opportunity to enter a poetry piece, a fiction piece, or both. For those interested in the fiction contest, Victoria Houston, author of the Loon Lake mystery series, will be a blind judge for the submissions. More than one entry of 2,000-5,000 words is welcomed; however, pieces must be submitted separately. The entry fee is $15 for members or $20 for nonmembers. Meanwhile, Karla Huston, the 2017-18 Wisconsin poet laureate, will judge the poetry contest. You can perfect those haikus, limericks, and sonnets, as all styles and themes are welcome, as long as the original piece doesn’t extend past one page. Authors can submit as many as three poems. Entry fees are $8 for members or $10 for nonmembers. For both contests, authors must live or attend school in Wisconsin, be 18 years of age or older, and submit unpublished work. All submissions are due by 11:59pm on Dec. 1! Visit wisconsinacademy.org to learn more. If the simple joy of writing doesn’t motivate you, cash prizes and publication opportunities are available to winners, as well as a full week in residency at Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts in Mineral Point. Writers, get cracking!