Contest deadlines:

The deadline for all entries is Feb. 1st each year. 

All entries should be submitted online. 

See Contest Guidelines for categories, divisions, and geographical requirements.

When you click on the link, you will be taken to an online database run by https://crowderquill.submittable.com, where you will be asked to upload your contest submissions along with a brief statement about each entry you submit. You should receive an automatically generated email to acknowledge that your submission has been loaded into the system.

You can then sign into https://crowderquill.submittable.com at any point to see the status of your submission. It might not say “in process” for a few weeks because we have not yet assigned it to an editor/judge.

Email Quill@crowder.edu or LatoniaBailey@crowder.edu or call 417-455-5410 if questions.

If you need a model consent form for art or photography, you may use this model consent form or create your own. Keep it for your own files.

Although generative artificial intelligence (AI) can serve a function in graphic design as well as assisting workplace productivity in various industries, AI provides an unfair advantage in a contest based on creative expression of human-generated art and original thought and should not be used for Quill contest entries. Of course, digital technology such as photo editing software may be used as a tool for the digital art category, and the creative process should be clearly explained.

The Crowder Quill is a literary-art magazine published annually at Crowder College on the campus of Neosho, Missouri. It is our goal to encourage and showcase the creative abilities of local writers, artists, and photographers as well as provide a cultural link between Crowder College and our surrounding community. Winners are published in the Crowder Quill magazine.

The publication is funded through Crowder College as an educational tool and service to the community. Both the contest and publication are free. The Crowder Quill is published each spring semester. The contest divisions are for Crowder College students, high school students, and adult community members all within 100 miles of any of our Crowder campus locations spanning from Nevada, Mo. in the north to Jane, Mo. in the southwest corner of the state and to Cassville, Mo. in the southeastern part of our service district. The contest categories as of May 1, 2026 are fiction, nonfiction, poetry, color photography, B&W photography, and digital art.