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The Quills Awards

For Published Texts

Winners announced at the Quills Conference Awards Ceremony
August 12, 2023

 

Rules

Entry Fee

 

$40 per entry. Each submission may be entered in one category only.

 

Rules and Guidelines

 

Submission period begins March 13th and closes May 12th.

 

Must be a member of the League of Utah Writers. Note: At contest close, submissions will be verified for member eligibility at contest close. If membership will have lapsed or will be lapsed by September 2023, the submitter will be prompted to renew their membership. If a week goes by without their membership being renewed, the submission will be denied without their entry fee being refunded. 

 

Publishing Date of submitted work must be between May 2022 - May 12 2023. For traditionally published works, if an ARC is available prior to the submission deadline with a release date before July 31, 2023, the work is eligible.

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All forms of publication are welcome - indie, traditional, etc - as long as it's in its final form and available to audiences.

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Previous winning works are ineligible to be entered again.

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2023 Categories

 

  • Novel (40k+ words)

  • Novella/Novelette (10k-40k words)

  • Middle Grade (up to 50k words)

  • Young Adult (40k+ words)

  • Collections. This category is open to editors who edited an anthology and single author collections.  Authors who submitted a short to an anthology collection, please submit your short story to the Typewriters.

  • Graphic Novels -- minimum of 50 pages

  • Nonfiction (all types) (25k+ words)

 

Gold Quill, Silver Quill, and Bronze Quill awards are given in each category.

 

The Diamond Quill Award is given to the highest score among all entries.

 

Categories may also include Recommended Read awards in the event of close scores.

 

Restrictions and Judging

 

A text may only be entered into one category.

 

Multiple entries are accepted from a single author, but each book can only be entered once.

 

Judges are anonymous professionals from outside the League of Utah Writers.

 

Judges will know the author's name since it is impossible to redact names or other identifying information.

 

In no way does the League of Utah Writers share your personal information with any third party. Any information of such a nature is only for use in contacting the submitter or allowing Reviewr to identify your account, should you need assistance.

 

Award winners will be announced at the Quills Awards during the Quills Conference. Please make sure your submission via Reviewr provides a valid MAILING ADDRESS, along with your email address. You do not need to be present at the awards ceremony to win. If you are not present and you place in a category, we will mail you your award, but can only do so with a valid mailing address. 

 

Submission

 

Entries can only be accepted electronically via Reviewr.

 

Formats Accepted: PDF, MS-Word.

 

Please include your cover for marketing purposes should your piece place.

 

File will be deleted at the conclusion of judging.

 

Final Notes

 

Contacting a judge, editor, or agent regarding the contest (before, during, and after) will result in the contestant being disqualified from future participation in any hosted contests by The League. 

 

Violation of the rules will result in a non-judged piece and forfeiture of entry fees. 

 

Categories may be combined if there are insufficient entries. 

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Contact

For any questions regarding the Quills published book contest, please email us!

Past Winners:

2022

2021

2020

2019

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Diamond Quill Winners 2023 (Tie!)

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Bryan Young “Ghostbird” (Salt City Genre Writers)

and

Jodi L. Milner “Stonebearer's Redemption” (Oquirrh Writers)

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Winners!

Be sure to download your award logos for use on your websites and social media.

Visit the contest award logo download page here.

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Collections

  • Gold Quill - Cody Langille “Dead Stars and Stone Arches: A Collection of Utah Horror” (Triple Q's)

  • Gold Quill - John Olsen “The Best of the Planetary Anthology Series” (Utah Freelance Writers, The Infinite Monkeys, The Herriman Chapter)

  • Silver Quill - Daniel Yocom “Kindred Spirits” (The Infinite Monkeys)

  • Bronze Quill - Bryan Young “Fox Tales” (Salt City Genre Writers)

  • Recommended Read - Jared Quan “Shattered Worlds” (Flaming Gnomes)


Nonfiction

  • Gold Quill - David Alan Armstrong - A Walk With the Master (Just Write Chapter)

  • Silver Quill - Bryan Young “The Big Bang Theory Official Book of Lists” (Salt City Genre Writers)

  • Bronze Quill - Jared Quan “Lifted” (Flaming Gnomes)

 

Novella

  • Gold Quill - Bryan Young - Welcome to Paradise(Salt City Genre Writers)

  • Silver Quill - Caryn Larrinaga - Mouse Trap (Salt City Genre Writers)

  • Bronze Quill - Sara Wetmore - The Christmas Script (Romance Chapter)

  • Recommended Read - Jayne Osborne - editor - A Boy, His Surfboard and the Storm (no affiliated chapters) 

  • Recommended Read - Bryan Young - Shadowrun: Mercy Street (Salt City Genre Writers) 

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Middle Grade

  • Gold Quill - Daniel Swenson “GingerSnap: A Redheads Guide to Not Being Eaten By a Dragon: Chapter 1” (Davis County)

  • Silver Quill - Jill Vanderwood - Cheers: The Path You Choose #3 (Brigham City Writers)

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Young Adult

  • Gold Quill -  C.W. Allen - The Secret Benefits of Invisibility (West Desert Wordsmiths) 

  • Gold Quill - Bruce Jacobs - Zeke Zooter and the Eye of Balor (Blue Quill)

  • Silver Quill - C.W. Allen - Tales of the Forgotten Founders (West Desert Wordsmiths)

  • Bronze Quill - Elizabeth Drysdale - The Exile's Promise (The Fellowship of the Ink)

  • Recommended Read - Blake Penn - The Skystone Chronicles Book 1: Dragon Thief (Unaffiliated) 

  • Recommended Read - Janilise Lloyd - The Whisperer's Wish (Blue Quill) 

  • Recommended Read - Off the Hook - Mindy LeMieux (Flaming Gnomes)

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Novel

  • Gold Quill - Michel Nelson “The Stickmaker” (Brigham City Writers)

  • Silver Quill - Ralph Dellapiana “Twice a Victim” (Salt City Scribes)

  • Bronze Quill - Bryan Young “A Question of Survival” (Salt City Genre Writers)

  • Bronze Quill - Lisa Forsyth “Sojourn: A Time Travel Romance” (Just Write Chapter)

  • Recommended Read - Gail Knezevich “A Whisper on the Wind” (The Herriman Chapter)

  • Recommended Read - Brooke Losee “You Wish” (West Desert Wordsmiths)

  • Recommended Read - Erica Richardson “Dragonbreath and Prejudice” (Just Write Chapter)

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