Christine DeSmet ’76, MA’87 to Judge WWA’s Annual Contest
- Mar. 30, 2023

Christine DeSmet, UW–Madison distinguished faculty associate (retired), is honored to judge the 2023 fiction category of the Wisconsin Writers Association (WWA) 74th annual contest. Christine was also asked to be a keynote speaker at the 75th celebration conference of the WWA, to be held October 6–7, 2023, in Brookfield, WI. The WWA began in 1948 as the Wisconsin Regional Writers Association, founded by Madison-based UW Extension professor Robert Gard. Christine created the Writers’ Institute conference and the Write-by-the-Lake Writer’s Workshop & Retreat, both decades-long programs attended by writers from across the country until the writing and arts units in UW–Madison Continuing Studies were shuttered during the pandemic. Christine continues her teaching as a private writing coach and is a multi-published author.
More Alumni Notes
Esther R. Schwarzbauer ’08 of Silver Spring, Maryland, is stepping away from her position as assistant theater manager of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, to join the Hippodrome Theatre and M&T Bank ...
UW–Madison alumni Steve Katz ’76, MA’77 and Donna Webber MA’76, MA’77 were featured guests on the national podcast Pizza Quest, airing on September 28, 2025, hosted by bread-baking expert and author Peter Reinhart to discuss the cultural and culin...
The Agricultural Relations Council (ARC) welcomed Robert (“Bob”) Giblin ’82 to the Agricultural Public Relations Hall of Fame during its annual meeting on June 24, 2025, in Kansas City, MO. AgriMarketing Magazine sponsors this award. Giblin is a 4...
Devoted husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, Paul Gerhardt Franke ’51 of Menasha, Wisconsin, passed away at age 95 on December 13, 2024, in Appleton, after a long time with declining health. Mr. Franke was born on July 25, 1929, in...
Esther R. Schwarzbauer ’08 of Silver Spring, Maryland, is stepping away from her position as assistant theater manager of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, to join the Hippodrome Theatre and M&T Bank ...
UW–Madison alumni Steve Katz ’76, MA’77 and Donna Webber MA’76, MA’77 were featured guests on the national podcast Pizza Quest, airing on September 28, 2025, hosted by bread-baking expert and author Peter Reinhart to discuss the cultural and culin...
The Agricultural Relations Council (ARC) welcomed Robert (“Bob”) Giblin ’82 to the Agricultural Public Relations Hall of Fame during its annual meeting on June 24, 2025, in Kansas City, MO. AgriMarketing Magazine sponsors this award. Giblin is a 4...
Devoted husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, Paul Gerhardt Franke ’51 of Menasha, Wisconsin, passed away at age 95 on December 13, 2024, in Appleton, after a long time with declining health. Mr. Franke was born on July 25, 1929, in...
Esther R. Schwarzbauer ’08 of Silver Spring, Maryland, is stepping away from her position as assistant theater manager of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, to join the Hippodrome Theatre and M&T Bank ...
UW–Madison alumni Steve Katz ’76, MA’77 and Donna Webber MA’76, MA’77 were featured guests on the national podcast Pizza Quest, airing on September 28, 2025, hosted by bread-baking expert and author Peter Reinhart to discuss the cultural and culin...
The Agricultural Relations Council (ARC) welcomed Robert (“Bob”) Giblin ’82 to the Agricultural Public Relations Hall of Fame during its annual meeting on June 24, 2025, in Kansas City, MO. AgriMarketing Magazine sponsors this award. Giblin is a 4...
Devoted husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, Paul Gerhardt Franke ’51 of Menasha, Wisconsin, passed away at age 95 on December 13, 2024, in Appleton, after a long time with declining health. Mr. Franke was born on July 25, 1929, in...





