(Neosho, MO) – The winners of the 45th anniversary contest for the Crowder Quill literary-art magazine of Crowder College have been announced and published.
For the 2025-26 contest, 919 entries were received, and 130 entries were awarded and published from 97 individuals in the categories of writing, photography, and art. The Crowder Quill was mailed to winning entrants, and the magazine is available at Crowder College campuses and in the community.
A digital copy of the Crowder Quill is available here, as well as information about how to enter next year’s contest, which is already open. Updates are provided on Facebook and Instagram as digital media marketing students practice and provide digital and social media content.
Begun in 1980, the Quill is published each spring; the contest deadline is Feb. 1 each year, and divisions are high school, Crowder, and the community within 100 miles of any Crowder campus.
The magazine was produced in the Digital Marketing Applied Graphics course by the following students:
- Anika Adame, Joplin
- Caitlin Cook, Stella
- Jessi Hilton, Goodman
- Julie Hilton, Goodman
- Maddi Idell, Pineville
- Aubrey Knachtal, Purdy
- Megan Lawson, Neosho
- Heather Maassen, Seneca
- Damien Pauley, Carthage
- Keira Yenzer, Joplin
- Latonia Bailey, Neosho, Adviser
All published entrants receive a certificate for gold, silver, bronze or honorable mention, as listed below. $500 scholarships are awarded to the high school gold winners for each category in the Crowder Quill literary/art contest. The one-time scholarship is for the top high school winner in each category: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, photography, digital art, 2D art, and 3D art for the 2026 contest.
The Crowder Quill is a free literary/art magazine published at Crowder College in order 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 communities.
As the course that produces the Quill transitions into the Career and Creative Writing certificate at Crowder beginning fall 2026, 2D and 3D Art categories will be discontinued in order to align with curriculum, create more space for writing, and encourage digital visual art participation. Artists working in traditional 2D and 3D media are encouraged to participate in the Digital Art category by adapting their work and expanding their creative skillsets. For more details, see the article “Contest Opens with Altered Categories” on the Crowder Quill website.
Beginning with the 2026-27 contest cycle, which is now open, the categories for the Quill are fiction, nonfiction, poetry, color photography, black-and-white photography, and digital art, which is computer-generated or digitally altered art as well as extensively altered photography for special effects.
This transition ensures the continued publication of the Crowder Quill. Relocating the course to a new program has allowed the magazine to continue its 45-year tradition of encouraging and celebrating creativity within the college and surrounding community.
For more information, contact the program coordinator/instructor Latonia Bailey at LatoniaBailey@Crowder.edu.
About Crowder College:
Crowder College was established in April 1963, as the voters of Newton and McDonald counties passed the issue to create a community college (formerly junior college) on the land formerly known as Camp Crowder. Today, the college provides services to a nine-county service region in southwest Missouri with locations in Neosho, Cassville, Joplin, McDonald County, Nevada, and Webb City. The student population exists from within the four-state region, and around the globe. With over 80 degree and program options, the college is a great place to train for a career or transfer to a university.
Reference:
Public Information Office
Crowder College
417.451.3223
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