The Junior Quinn Award recognizes achievement and potential in Creative Writing MAJORS AND MINORS with junior class standing by awarding one or more recipients with financial support to attend a writing workshop or conference. We hope the prize will be used to fund future conference attendance, contest submission fees, or other creative-writing related application costs—but because of the worldwide pandemic limiting travel and conference schedules, this year’s prize will be issued as a flat $1000.
We recognize that it is not always easy to determine eligibility. If you are not technically a Junior this academic year but plan to graduate no earlier than December 2022 and no later than December 2023, you may be eligible. If you have any questions about your eligibility, check with Anna Ivy or Keshia Atkins in Undergraduate Advising (englishadvising@illinois.edu). You may apply for the Junior Quinn only once. If you have eligibility questions, email John Dudek, Associate Director of Creative Writing, at jdudek4@illinois.edu.
If you are eligible, we want to see a sample of your unpublished prose OR poetry:
- Prose submissions can be either fiction or creative nonfiction. Limit your submission to 1-2 pieces, no more than 15 pages total.
- Poetry submissions should contain 3-5 poems, no more than 7 pages total.
The first page of your submission (not included in page count) should be a statement of purpose explaining how attending a writing conference or other professional development opportunity would impact your writing. This statement should be no more than 250 words. A few conferences you might consider are listed below. Though feel free to find other opportunities that interest you more!
Submit your statement of purpose and creative work in one file (.docx only) to John Dudek at jdudek4@illinois.edu by noon, March 1. To make sure your submission does not get lost, the subject line of the email should be ALL CAPS and either JUNIOR QUINN POETRY or JUNIOR QUINN PROSE. The body of this email should include: Your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, and UIN.
