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Category: The Hal Prize

  • 2017 Hal Prize Winners

    Photography First Place: “Surf Sisters” by Laura Joeckel Judge’s comment: This terrific travel photograph succeeds on several levels: The nuns are captured in a non-instrusive manner and we see just enough of their facial expressions to give it life. The viewer knows that we’re in Italy by the writing on the boat. Great use of […]

  • 2021 Hal Prize Sets Submission Record

    Submissions to the 2021 Hal Prize closed Sept. 15. The annual creative writing and photography contest, now in its 23rd year, has continued to grow, and thanks to the support and enthusiasm of all entrants, the 2021 Hal Prize was a record-setting year. Submissions for 2021 totaled at 874 entries: 111 fiction, 74 nonfiction, 337 poetry […]

  • Hal Prize Deadline is Sept. 15

    Last days to enter Door County’s premier writing and photography contest The deadline to submit writing and photography for the Hal Prize is coming fast. Writers, poets and photographers have until Sept. 15 to submit works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry and photography to the 23rd edition of the prize, presented by the Peninsula Pulse and […]

  • The Accidental Poet: A Q&A with Hal Prize poetry judge Mark Wunderlich

    Though Mark Wunderlich calls the East Coast home, his poetry often conjures images of the Midwest he grew up in: the farms, the snow, the neighbors and the many other people and places that we who call it home are very familiar with. Within this setting, he tackles questions about life and death, the human […]

  • Mark the Date!: Sept. 15 is deadline for Hal Prize for writing and photography

    Do you have a story to tell?  Take your chance to get published in 25,000 copies of the Peninsula Pulse and in the inaugural 8142 Review, the new literary journal from the Peninsula Pulse and Write On, Door County.  Now in its 23rd year, the Hal Prize offers prizes for works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry […]

  • Searching for a Meaningful Moment: A Q&A with 2021 Hal Prize Photography Judges Coburn and Tad Dukehart

    You’ve likely seen Tad Dukehart’s name in the pages of the Peninsula Pulse, most notably for his photos of fire calls and county events. But before he retired to Ephraim and began capturing the county’s history, he spent 40 years recording history in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. — from Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have […]

  • A Steward of Truth: A Q&A with 2021 Hal Prize nonfiction judge Faith Adiele

    Faith Adiele turns truth into art – her truth, her stories. She tells of growing up American with Nordic and Nigerian heritage, traveling to Thailand and becoming its first Black Buddhist nun, dealing with a diagnosis of fibroids while pursuing her graduate degree in Iowa, and trekking across the mountains of Lesotho in South Africa […]

  • Hal Prize Announces Photography Judges

    The Hal Prize organizers are excited to welcome back Coburn Dukehart as a 2021 photography judge, but this year, her father, Tad Dukehart, will join her to create a father-daughter judging team. Coburn has spent almost 20 years pursuing the craft of photojournalism and multimedia storytelling. She’s the digital and multimedia director for the Wisconsin […]

  • 2021 Hal Prize Judges Announced

    The organizers of the Hal Prize are excited to announce the annual contest’s poetry, fiction and nonfiction judges. Mark Wunderlich will serve as the 2021 poetry judge. His first book, The Anchorage, was published in 1999 and earned the Lambda Literary Award. He has also received the Writers at Work Award, Jack Kerouac Prize and […]

  • 2020 Hal Prize Recipients Receive Mug

    Instead of a certificate or trophy or high-five, first-place winners in the Hal Prize competition receive a beautiful mug that’s custom made by Clay Bay Pottery. This year’s design features birch trees on a blue background, with a 2020 Hal Prize banner. Submissions are now open for the 2021 Hal Prize contest. To submit entries, […]

  • Questions & Authors: Ed Bok Lee

    “Poetry heals the wounds inflicted by reason.”  Ed Bok Lee – the 2020 Hal Prize poetry judge, an award-winning poet and Metropolitan State University professor – uses this quote by Novalis to explain why he started to write poetry. When I think about this quote, it also explains why people read poetry, especially in times like these […]

  • Questions & Authors: Jane Hamilton

    If you’ve ever been caught up in a novel and read 100 pages without feeling like any time has passed, you know the power novels can have. Here, Jane Hamilton – the 2020 Hal Prize fiction judge and the internationally bestselling author of The Book of Ruth, A Map of the World and The Excellent […]

  • PODCAST: Introducing the 8142 Review

    Grace and Steve stop in to talk about the Hal Prize, the Pulse’s annual literary contest, which was named after Steve’s father. This year the Hal Prize will live within the pages of the 8142 Review, the Pulse’s new literary magazine. Grace has been hard at work getting the first issue ready, and we can’t […]

  • Pulse Cover v20i31 Hal Prize Cover lit issue

    2014 Hal Prize Winners

    Photography First Place: Photography by Sadie Weber Judge’s comments: What I liked about this image is exactly what I look for when photographing:  an interesting subject, strong composition and great light. This image has all three. The water line leads you into the photo and with the mountain range in the background produces a three-dimensional […]

  • 2018 Hal Prize Winners

    Many creative endeavors begin with bravery and hope. The Hal Prize is no different. For me, the contest always starts with the bravery and hope of submitters. It takes bravery for writers and photographers – both experienced and amateur – to offer up their work for critique and judgment. When you create something, you show […]

  • 2019 Hal Prize Winners

    Photography First Place: “Sea the Reflection” by Leena Meyers  Judge’s comments: I love everything about this photograph! The colors, the composition, the subject matter, and I love the awe and wonder on the child’s face. The focus is also spot-on, and the light in the image makes your eyes go straight to the child’s eye and […]

  • Hal Prize Q&A: 2018 Hal Prize Fiction Winner

    Since 1998, the Peninsula Pulse has been memorializing Hal Grutzmacher through our Hal Prize contest in literature, prose and photography. The contest brings in accomplished writers and photographers to judge the hundreds of submissions from the community and beyond. The deadline to submit work for the 2019 Hal Prize is May 1. Visit thehalprize.submittable.com/submit to […]

  • Announcing the 2019 Hal Prize Judges

    The Peninsula Pulse newspaper is pleased to announce the judges of the 2019 Hal Prize contest in poetry, prose and photography. They are photographer Tytia Habing; author, educator and artist Thomas Pecore Weso; poet Ira Sukrungruang; and novelist Cynthia Swanson. Conducted annually since 1998, the Peninsula Pulse’s Hal Prize seeks to encourage and honor artistic […]

  • 2018 Hal Prize Judges Announced

    The Peninsula Pulse newspaper is pleased to announce the judges of the 2018 Hal Prize poetry, prose and photography contest. They are:  award-winning Wisconsin photographer Carl Corey, Minneapolis poet Leslie Adrienne Miller, Minnesota novelist Peter Geye, and nonfiction writer José Rodríguez. Conducted annually since 1998, the mission of the Peninsula Pulse’s Hal Prize is to […]

  • Announcing the 2018 Hal Prize Contest

    The Peninsula Pulse newspaper proudly presents the 2018 Hal Prize. Conducted annually since 1998, the mission of the Peninsula Pulse’s Hal Prize is to encourage and appreciate artistic expression through various literary forms and photography. The contest has showcased works from individuals of all ages and backgrounds – novice writers and photographers to professionals. The […]