and

Woodrow Hall Editions

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Poetry Jumps Off the Shelf and Woodrow Hall Editions was launched in 2004 by Shoshauna Shyin Madison, Wisconsin with the mission of bringing poetry out of the libraries, bookstores and classrooms into the general public arena.
Since Poetry Jumps Off the Shelf began, the work of over 150 poets from the U.S., Canada, England, China, Wales, Spain, Australia and Norway have appeared on over 2500 java jackets, over 5000 postcards, 1500 bookmarks, and in a plethora of jawbreaker capsules. They have been published in palm-sized books for glove compartments, on note cards attached to maple syrup jugs, and on decals affixed to city-shared bicycles.
From time to time, there are partnerships
with local presses, various awards given,
readings in conjunction with other programs,
and worldwide contests.
Check back to see what's going on ---------- !
Shoshauna Shy welcomes your queries: poetryjumpsoff@gmail.com
APRIL 2025
Announcing the WINNERS
of the
WOODROW HALL TOP SHELF AWARDS
for poetry books published in 2024
Five winners were selected.
One top award winner received $500.00,
three finalists each received $200.00
and a Top Five Selection winner received $50.00.
Since books of poetry are often a rarity in Little Free Libraries, those books declined for an award took up residence in a Little Free Library. They were transported by Subaru or Delta Airlines to little libraries in Madison, Wisconsin; Evanston, Illinois; Charlottesville, Virgina; St. George, Utahand Boulder, Colorado.
Woodrow Hall Top Shelf Winners 2024
Joy Sullivan of Portland, Oregon was the
Woodrow Hall Top Shelf Award winner for her book Instructions for Traveling West
published by The Dial Press in NYC, New York
John Gallaher of Maryville, Missouri was a finalist for his book
My Life in Brutalist Architecture published by Four Way Books in NYC, New York
Colleen Alles of East Grand Rapids, Michigan was a finalist for her book Bonfires & Other Vigils published by Red Rook Press in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Sara Ries Dziekonski of Gulfport, Florida was a finalist for her book Today's Specials published by Press 53 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Edna Shochat of Boise, Idaho won the Top Five Selection award for her collection Decent Exposure published by Poetica Mea in Boise, Idaho

Press here
to read more about the authors and their books
FEBRUARY 2024
Announcing
WINNERS
Four awards were given for $550.00 apiece
to help fund Wisconsin poetry programs and projects
Christopher Kolon, Poet Laureate of Kenosha received an award for his project "The Lake is Mother to Us All." Poems that celebrate the relationship between Lake Michigan and citizens of Kenosha County displayed or made available in shop windows, on yard signs, in a newspaper vending boxand on a bicycle tour in Kenosha April through September
Rita Mae Reese, Madison to screen the best of four years of the Midwest Video Poetry Festival from local and international poet/filmmakers curated by the Arts & Literature Labat two Madison public libraries in April
Elizabeth Jorgensen, Waukesha for her program involving a collaboration between visual artand English class students for an exhibit of sijo (unrhymed Korean verse) at Arrowhead UnionHigh School in Hartland through June
Lynn Aprill of Seymour for a Wisconsin Council of Teachers of English convention luncheon for middle and high school teachers in October with Wisconsinguest poets to fosterfuture classroom collaborations
DECEMBER 2020
THE CONTACT TRACING PROJECT
Postcards featuring haiku and senryu penned in the spring and summer of 2020 during the first wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic were produced on postcards for the poets whose work was selected. Submissions came in from across the U.S., Canada, England and Israel.
While haiku and senryu are traditionally 17 syllables long,
syllable counts varied. This is because poets from
different regions pronounce English words differently.
American Midwestern poets give each vowel its moment in the sun,
while poets in the southeast let the 2nd and 3rd consonants in a word
rule the roost, thereby neutering the distinction of each individual vowel.
NOVEMBER 2019
Announcing the WINNERS
of the
Woodrow Hall Top Shelf Awards for poetry books published in 2018
Five winners were selected from over 100 books submittedfrom the United States, Italy, Canada and Greece.Each winner received a $100.00 award.
Since books of poetry are often a rarity in Little Free Libraries, it was decided that those books declined for an award would take up residence in a Little Free Library. They were then transported by bicycle, Toyota or Delta Airlines to libraries in Dane County, Wisconsin; Cook County, Illinois; Leelanau County, Michigan; Fulton County, Georgia,and West Yorkshire, Nova Scotia.
Woodrow Hall Top Shelf Award Winners
2018
Julie MarieWade of Hollywood, Florida received an award for her book Same-Sexy Marriage: A Novella in Poems published by A Midsummer Night's Press of Glen Head, New York
Allison Joseph of Carbondale, Illinois, for her book Corporal Musepublished by Sibling Rivalry Press of Little Rock, Arkansas
Mark Cox of Wilmington, North Carolina, for his book Readiness published by Press 53 of Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Allison Joseph of Carbondale, Illinois, for her book Corporal Musepublished by Sibling Rivalry Press of Little Rock, Arkansas
Julie MarieWade of Hollywood, Florida received an award for her book Same-Sexy Marriage: A Novella in Poems published by A Midsummer Night's Press of Glen Head, New York
To read more about the authors and their books:
OCTOBER 2016
Announcing the WINNERS
of the
Woodrow Hall Top Shelf Awards for Individual Poems
The Woodrow Hall Top Shelf Awards 2016 was a contest conducted April through July
to provide further notoriety and a wider readership for those poems that had already proven
their excellence by prior publication or placing in other contests.
Thank you to EVERYONE who submitted their work! Entries came in from 27 statesin the USA, as well as India, Canada, the United Kingdom, Israel and Norway.Selections were made by Karla Huston without knowledge of the authors.The winning poems are available to read by clicking here:
JUNE 2014
Up to the Cottage

POETRY JUMPS OFF THE SHELF project of Summer 2014 featured poems on the theme “Up to the Cottage.” Poems were produced on postcards and bookmarks, and then made available at the cottages and through the venues listed below.
Houseguests of these cottages found the postcards available to them for free during their stay to send to friends and family, and the bookmarks to use while there—or both of these items to take home when they departed.
Poems referencing maple syrup were also published on laminated note cards, and attached to the thumb-holds of maple syrup bottles.
The producers and distributors are listed below along with the locations where the syrup was sold.
Cottages that hosted the poems
WISCONSIN
Cedar Glen in Ephraim South Nest Retreat in Baileys Harbor The River Cottage in Mazomanie Dillman’s Bay Resort in Lac du Flambeau
FLORIDA
Pine Ridge Cottage in Naples
MAINE
Magalloway River Camps
VERMONT
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Other Wisconsin locations
Mystery to Me bookstore in Madison; Delafield Art Center in Delafield;Dwight Foster Public Library,Velveteen Rabbit Book Shop and Hoard Historical Museum all of Fort Atkinson;Purloin Studio Gallery in Menomonee Falls
Poems Attached to Maple Syrup Bottles
Ruegsegger Farms of Blanchardville sold the syrup at Paoli Local Foods in Paoli, and at Farmers Markets in Waukesha, Oshkosh and South Milwaukee;Jackl's Whataview Farm had them in PhelpsMarquardt Tree Farm of Tigerton made them available at the Dane CountyFarmers Market in Madison, and sold them via their mail order business
Shoshauna Shy welcomes your queries: poetryjumpsoff@gmail.com