The Quill Awards promote and honour excellence in Victorian journalism. Entrants must observe the following guidelines. In particular, they must adhere to the detailed specifications for submitting documents, audio and video files set out below.
For category conditions of entry, click here.
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Who is eligible to enter the Quill Awards?
Entrants must be employed by a Victorian-based media organisation or an organisation that conducts substantial publishing or broadcasting activities in Victoria. They must have been sent from Victoria on an interstate or overseas assignment for a Victorian media organisation or work from an interstate or international bureaux that provides content for a Victorian media outlet.
Group entries require the majority of members (ie: at least half of the members) to be based in Victoria.
What work is eligible for entry?
The 31st Quill Awards are for material published or broadcast from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. All entries must comply with the MEAA Code of Ethics and must declare any formal corrections, claims of plagiarism or any legal proceedings commenced in relation to the entry after its publication. Entrants must certify that their work is original and that it complies with copyright rules. Entrants must also abide by our requirements around use of Artificial Intelligence. Please see our declarations on the Quills entry portal for more information.
What is the deadline?
Entries for the 31st Quill Awards close 27 January 2026.
Individual & Group entries
There are two entry types for the Quills.
Individual:
If an entry is the work of one person, choose the "individual entry" option.
Group:
Two or more people wishing to submt their work may submit as a group entry. Group entries must choose the "group entry" option and enter details of all entrants below.
In a group entry, one individual must be nominated the primary entrant.
For group entrants to redeem the free member entry offer, the primary entrant must be a current Melbourne Press Club member until at least Friday 20 March 2026. The free entry will be attributed to the primary entrant, who will not be able to claim a further free entry. If the primary entrant has already claimed a free entry this round, the full entry fee will be charged.
Groups of five or more must enter with a group name. This group name is used in place of individual namesacknowledged in official materials produced for the night – including trophies. Example team names are "The Cape Otway Examiner Investigations Team" or "Loddon FM Newsroom".
How many entries can you submit?
You may submit a maximum of two entries in each category. Group entries do not count towards this cap.
The same piece of work cannot be submitted in more than two categories. Entries into our Perkin, Gordon, Wendt and Student awards do not count towards this cap.
In general, the judges reserve the right to transfer an entry to another category or to reject an entry that, in their opinion, does not comply with the Conditions of Entry.
Supporting statements
Entrants must add a supporting statement explaining the particular significance of the work and how it was executed. Please address the criteria relating to each category.
Most supporting statements are no more than 400 words. The Quill for Excellence in Indigenous Affairs Reporting allows a supporting statement of no more than 750 words.
How much material can be part of an entry?
Where entrants submit multiple articles, broadcast items or images as part of an entry, they must nominate the primary item to be considered by judges in their supporting statement. Where the primary item forms part of a series or a package, up to two further associated items may be submitted to provide context. If this condition is not adhered to, the judges may either select one item from those submitted by the entrant as the primary item or disqualify the entry.
In the Coverage of an Issue or Event category, the entrant is not required to nominate a primary item and may submit a maximum of six items or stories, including the primary item.
Employer verification
Entrants must provide contact details for their employer or a contact at the organisation which commissioned the work. This person will receive a verification email and be asked to confirm the work’s authenticity.
Can MPC board members and judges enter?
MPC board members and Quills judges are eligible to enter the Quill awards, however a board member or judge who submits an individual entry or is part of a group entry in any category is ineligible to also serve as a judge in that category.
Judging
The judges’ decisions are final.
Quill Awards republishing rights
By submitting a Quill Awards entry, the entrant(s) and the publisher or broadcaster of their work acknowledge the right of the Melbourne Press Club to reproduce all entry materials for the purposes of promoting the awards. Quill winners may be expected to speak about their entry as part of a later MPC event.