Who We Are
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The Quills' mission is to recognise the contributions of members of Writing.Com, honor writing by presenting awards highlighting quality work
| The Quills do not claim and have never claimed to be the sole arbiter of quality work and service on WDC. The Quills are merely a substantial effort at recognizing and celebrating individual and community work on WDC throughout the year. It is a collection of extraordinary people and works, but not necessarily the only collection. |
What We Do
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We provide site-wide recognition of WdC's highest-quality work, as nominated by the community. We present unique, commissioned awards across 43 categories and up to 60 individual genres.
The Quills is volunteer-run and relies solely on donations and awards sponsorships.
How to Nominate
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Any WdC member, of any case color, is eligible to nominate another member for a Quill. You cannot nominate yourself, and nominations from secondary accounts are not accepted.
When you find well-written, high-quality work, unique and well-executed activities/contests, and members whose contributions are an asset to the community, you can nominate them for a Quill "Quill Nomination Form 2024"  .
Items written from January 1 to December 31 of the current year are eligible for nomination, provided they meet the criteria rules.
You will need either the item number, entry number, and/or user name (not handle) to submit the nomination.
You must agree to keep the nomination confidential before the form can be submitted. See "The Quills Rulebook" for the complete Quills rules and regulations.
Nominations close on January 10 of the following year.
Category Criteria
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The criteria are available right on the "Quill Nomination Form 2024" .
Quick Rules ▼
This is not an exhaustive list. Please review the complete rules and regulations in " The Quills Rulebook" .
 Any member can nominate another member.
No self-nominations or nominations from secondary accounts.
There is no limit on the number of times you can nominate, but nominations must follow all nomination rules.
There is no limit on the number of nomination a member can receive in any category.
Members are limited to two (2) items for formal judging in any category, and will be contacted when it is time to select the two items.
A nominee can decline or withdraw a nomination any time they want.
Writing Awards
Poetry ▼
Best Short Poem, Structured
Criteria: must be 15 lines or less.
Best Short Poem, Free Verse
Criteria: must be 15 lines or less.
Best Medium-Length Poem, Structured
Criteria: must be 16 to 30 lines.
Best Medium-Length Poem, Free Verse
Criteria: must be 16 to 30 lines.
Best Long Poem, Structured
Criteria: must be 31 lines or more.
Best Long Poem, Free Verse
Criteria: must be 31 lines or more.
Best Poetry Collection
Criteria: at least 12 pieces created this year and contained in a book or folder. Additional criteria
Subfolders can be used to organize contents, but must only contain poetry.
Only items written in the current year will be eligible for judging.
Individual items in a collection may also be nominated in other applicable categories.
If the book or folder contains items other than poetry, try 'best mixed collection' |
Fiction Prose ▼
Best Flash Fiction
Criteria: must be 1,000 words or less.
Best Short Story
Criteria: must be 1,001 to 2,500 words.
Best Chapter
Criteria: must be 1,001 to 3,000 words.
Best Medium-Length Story
Criteria: must be 2,501 to 7,500 words.
Best Long Story / Novelette
Criteria: must be between 7,501 and 17,500 words; may be in static, book, or folder format.
All book entries or contents in a folder must be created this year.
Best Novella / Novel
Criteria: must be 17,501 words or more; may be in static, book, or folder format.
All book entries or contents in a folder must be created this year.
Best Short Story Collection
Criteria: at least 10 short stories created this year and contained in a book or folder. Additional criteria
Subfolders can be used to organize contents, but must only contain short stories.
Only items written in the current year will be eligible for judging.
Individual items in a collection may also be nominated in other applicable categories.
If the book or folder contains items other than short story fiction, try 'best mixed collection'. |
Nonfiction Prose ▼
Best Short Nonfiction
Criteria: must be must be 2,500 words or less.
Best Medium-Length Nonfiction
Criteria: must be 2,501 to 7,500 words.
Best Long Nonfiction
Criteria: must be 7,501 words or more; may be in static, book, or folder format.
All book entries or contents in a folder must be created this year.
Best Non-Fiction Collection
Criteria: at least 7 pieces created this year and contained in a book or folder. Additional criteria
Subfolders can be used to organize contents, but must only contain nonfiction.
Only items written in the current year will be eligible for judging.
Individual items in a collection may also be nominated in other applicable categories.
If the book or folder contains items other than nonfiction, try 'best mixed collection'.
Blogs are not eligible in the non-fiction category, but can be nominated for "Best Blog". |
Other Prose ▼
Best Blog
Criteria: must have at least 20 entries this year.
Best Campfire
Criteria: must have been created and active this year; must have at least 5 entries from each participant.
Best Interactive
Criteria: must have been created and active this year; must have at least 15 chapters.
Best Newsletter
Criteria: both official and unofficial newsletters are eligible; must have be published this year.
Best Mixed Collection
Criteria: at least 10 pieces created this year and contained in a book or folder. Additional criteria
Subfolders can be used to organize contents, but must contain a combination of at least two (2) types of writing.
The mixed collection must contain at least 3 pieces of each type of writing, regardless of the combination of writing in the collection.
Only items written in the current year will be eligible for judging, and the new items must meet the first two criteria.
Individual items in a collection may also be nominated in other applicable categories.
If the book or folder only contains items of a single type of writing (poetry, short story, etc) please pick the appropriate category. |
Community Awards
Contests, Fundraisers, and Activities ▼
Best Contest
Criteria: requires entries that are judged with declared winners.
Best New Contest
Criteria: requires entries that are judged with declared winners; must be newly-created this year.
Best Fundraiser
Criteria: for activities that primarily raise funds (auctions, raffles, etc.) for specific purposes.
Best New Fundraiser
Criteria: for activities that primarily raise funds (auctions, raffles, etc.) for specific purposes; must be newly-created this year.
Best Activity
Criteria: for any activities/challenges that aren't otherwise contests, fundraisers or covered by another award (forums, groups, etc.).
Best New Activity
Criteria: for any activities/challenges that aren't otherwise contests, fundraisers or covered by another award (forums, groups, etc.); must be newly-created this year
Best Single-Person Activity
Criteria: for any activities/challenges that aren't otherwise contests, fundraisers or covered by another award (forums, groups, etc.).
Groups ▼
Best Group
Criteria: must have been reasonably active this year.
Best New Group
Criteria: must have been created and active this year.
Other Community Awards ▼
Best Forum
Criteria: must have been reasonably active this year; contests and activities not eligible for this award.
Best Newsfeed Contributor
Criteria: eligible for both posts and comments; must provide substantial value to the community. Ongoing advertisements for a nominee's own activities
| Advertising one's own activities is a necessary part of owning contests and activities. The contribution, in this case, would be the contest/activity itself, and it can be nominated in those categories. |
will not be evaluated.
Best Review
Criteria: nominee must have completed at least 20 quality public reviews and the nominated review from this year
Best Reviewer
Criteria: nominee must have completed at least 20 public reviews this year
Best of the Rest
Criteria: must have been created this year; eligible item types include: audio, crosswords, in & outs, madlibs, photo albums, polls, quizzes, surveys, word searches, images and shops.
Overall Awards
Portfolio Awards ▼
Special Contribution and Lifetime Achievement Awards ▼
Other ▼
Best Overall Poem
Best Overall Poem is selected from the winners of all the poetry categories, excluding Best Poetry/Mixed Collections.
Best Overall Fiction
Best Overall Fiction is selected from the winners of all the fiction categories, excluding Best Fiction/Mixed Collections.
Best Overall Nonfiction
Best Overall Nonfiction is selected from the winners of all the nonfiction categories, excluding Best Nonfiction/Mixed Collections.
Best Overall Collection
Best Overall Collection is selected from the winners of all Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction and Mixed Collections.
Genres
No Direct Genre Nominations ▼
Direct nominations for genre categories are not accepted. All eligible nominations are sorted into the appropriate genre categories once the nomination period closes.
Genres the Quills Does Not Use ▼
These genres do not qualify as categories for Quill purposes:
Activity
Contest
Contest Entry
Other
Personal
Reviewing
Writing
Writing.Com
Activities and contests have their own categories and should be properly identified through their subject matter/genre.
Importance of Genre Selection ▼
Please read " Generic Genres" to understand the importance of genre selection for your items.
Judging
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The Quills categories are evaluated by panels of judges who select the winners; winners of genre categories are voted on by on the general membership by poll.
Any WdC member, regardless of case color, is welcome to be a panel judge. A call for judges will be put in the newsfeed, but you are welcome to contact Lilli 🧿 ☕   at any time if you'd like to be a judge.
General judging rules are in "The Quills Rulebook" , and you can also consult "The Quills Judges' Handbook"
| It's currently under revision. We'll let you know in the newsfeed as soon as it's available. |
Donations and Sponsorships
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The Quills relies on donations and sponsorships to continue to provide exclusive awards recognizing WdC's highest calibre work. Our current awards can be found here: "Currently Available Quill Awards" .
Donations:
You can make donations through this forum, or you can make a direct donation by sending gift points to group item ID: 1375927.
Donations of 50k GPs will receive a Community MB
Donations of 100K+ will receive a Quill Sponsor MB
Donations to the general fund are accepted and donor names will be listed.
Sponsorships
Sponsorship of categories are on a first-come, first-served basis. Sponsorships begin at 250K GPs. There is no limit to the number of categories you can sponsor, but there are rules related to sponsorships, your own nominations, and judging "The Quills Rulebook" .
Sponsorships are available for these categories.
Sponsors will be listed with the category they sponsor and receive a Quill Sponsor MB:
250K - Best Reviewer (pays for 175k medal for the winner, 25k ribbon for the HM and MBs for both)
250K - Best Blog (pays for 175k medal for the winner, 25k ribbon for the HM and MBs for both)
350K - Best Port (pays for 200k plaque and merit badge for the winner, and 25k ribbon and MB for the HM)
350K - Best New Port (pays for 200k plaque and merit badge for the winner, and 25k ribbon and MB for the HM)
350K - Best Overall (pays for 200k plaque and an MB for the winner (there's no HM here)
To discuss sponsorship, please contact Lilli 🧿 ☕ .
Donors of 100K+ or Category Sponsors will receive an exclusive Quill Sponsor Badge.
Thank you to our nominees, nominators, sponsors, donors, judges, and volunteers for continuing to make The Quills a Success!
Nominate someone today " Quill Nomination Form 2024" and check out our current nominees " Invalid Item" !
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