Off the Quill is the annual Honors research and creative arts journal, which hosts works by students ranging from paintings and sheet music, to poetry and short stories, to research projects and capstones. Each year, students in the Honors Scholar Program and Touchstone Scholar Program can submitted their works and projects for consideration and submission in that year's edition.
Once a work has been accepted, the Publications Committee votes on which works will receive awards based on their category. The awards that are considered are:
Outstanding Underclassman Submission
Outstanding Upperclassman Submission
Outstanding Creative Submission
Outstanding Poetry Submission
The last segment of the journal is dedicated to recipient of the previous year's Sarah McIntire Award for Outstanding Capstone. This is a very prestigious award that highlights an honors scholar's dedications and hard work on their capstone project.
If a work is accepted for publication, that counts as a publication credit, which scholars can put on their resumes! If you are interested in submitting, please direct all questions to the OTQ Solicitor () and CC the Publications Secretary (askidmore@twu.edu).
The Athenian is a monthly newsletter which highlights that month's social-cultural events, service and fundraising opportunities, a single student-submitted creative work, and any important honors news. The Publications Committee attends every event and interviews students who also attended to ensure everyone is up-to-date and excited for the incredible events hosted by the Social-Cultural Committee.
There is also space allotted for an outstanding honors scholar who the committee has noticed is putting in the work. They are dedicated and passionate about service or research, and the committee asks about their experience and for any advice they might have for other honors scholars.
This year, the Athenian will feature a capstone section, which is a dedicated space for answering questions about capstones and offering advice and resources for students who have or will soon begin the process of completing their capstone. The Athenian is e-mailed directly to everyone on the Honors mailing list, so be on the lookout on the last Friday of each month for this comprehensive newsletter!
The OTQ Solicitor, TBD, will be happy handle your submission. Please be sure to CC the Publications Secretary, cfulenwider@twu.edu, on any emails for the OTQ Solicitor.
While there is no technical page limit, be aware that longer works inevitably take up more space. Since there is limited space available, greater consideration will be given to works of fewer pages in an effort to fit more works into the allowed space. Regardless, we encourage you to submit works of any length provided they fall into one of the categories (creative works, such as paintings, photography, music, short stories, etc., poetry, or research papers).
One huge benefit of submitting is the ability to claim a publishing credit on your educational or professional resume. Being able to claim a publishing credit isn't something everyone can do, especially as an undergraduate student. When a work is accepted, that work will be part of a legitimately published collection and will count as a publishing credit, adding to a student's credibility and bolstering their resume. If you have a work in any edition of Off the Quill, put it on your resume! We are currently working on a way to digitally archive and house current and future editions of Off the Quill to make them more accessible so that one day, prospective schools or employers will be able to read what you have written and published.
For Touchstone Scholars, submitting to Off the Quill is a great way to earn a TAD credit. Once you have confirmation that your work has been accepted, the Publications Secretary will be able to sign off on your TAD form. If you have any questions about this, you can email the Honors Office, honors@twu.edu, or the Publications Secretary, cfulenwider@twu.edu.