Timeframe
All work submitted in the awards program must have been largely planned and executed in 2025.
Work that continues to be implemented in the current time period under a long-term strategy developed prior to January 2025 also is eligible provided it has not previously been entered in the Bronze Quill Awards program.
If you entered your work in previous years and didn’t win an award, you may revise and re-enter your project, provided that it still meets eligibility criteria. Entries that have won in previous years may not be resubmitted. However, recurring projects or campaigns may be entered for 2025 work.
2026 IABC Houston Bronze Quill Dates
Please note that these deadlines are at midnight on Mondays, meaning that you have until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday night to submit.
Early Bird Deadline: Monday, March 2, 2026, at 12:00 a.m. CDT
Regular Deadline: Monday, March 30, 2026, at 12:00 a.m. CDT
Late Deadline: Monday, April 6, 2026 at 12:00 a.m. CDT
Winners Announced: Thursday, June 4, 2026
These deadlines are a few weeks earlier than in past years so that we can clear the way for the World Cup to come to Houston!
Eligibility
Who is eligible to submit an award nomination?
The Bronze Quill Awards are open to all Texas communications professionals, including freelancers and those working in agencies, nonprofit organizations or corporations.
You do NOT have to be an IABC member to enter the competition or attend the awards gala, but members do receive a discount for entry prices and event reservations. IABC members from Texas chapters outside Houston such as Dallas and Austin, as well as at-large members based in Texas, will receive the same member discounts as Houston chapter members.
If you have not joined yet but would like to take advantage of the member discount, take a moment now to join IABC, a truly global association for communication professionals.
All types of organizations – public, private, not-for-profit, government departments and marketing and advertising agencies – are eligible. Students of accredited university communications, marketing and advertising programs are also invited to submit award nominations in special student categories.
The entrant is the project lead who has worked on the project and is submitting for him/herself or on behalf of the project team. The entrant named must match the entrant named on the work plan and be the primary lead on the project.
What can I enter?
Original material that was produced and/or measured in 2025 is eligible for entry. If you started the project in 2024, but some of its elements carried over into 2025 (e.g., measurement of its success occurred in 2025), then it is eligible.
Entrants may submit work in multiple categories within and across divisions, providing that the work plan fits the category description. You may submit as many entries as you wish; however, separate entry fees apply for each entry.
Can a team submit an entry?
You may submit as an individual or as a team.
Can I submit work done for a client?
Of course! But you do need to have the permission of your client and indicate so on the entry.
What are the eligibility requirements for student entries?
A student or a group of students may submit entries. At the time the work was created, the student must have been attending school full-time or part-time, working toward a degree at an accredited college, university, or other educational institution in Texas. NOTE: if a student has prior professional communication experience or is currently employed in the communication profession (not including internships), they must submit a professional entry.
Students may enter in the Student Entry category – there is one in each of the four divisions. Work produced for educational courses, a club or volunteer association, an internship, or commercial or noncommercial activities is eligible for submission.
If the project was not fully implemented, please note this for the evaluators. It will not disadvantage your entry; however, you must show how the program would have been evaluated had it been implemented.
Professors, lecturers, or advisers may NOT enter on behalf of a student or student team.
Submitting Entries
How do I submit an entry?
To enter, choose your category, complete and upload your entry and pay the entry fee. Full payment must be received for all entries on or before the closing date to be eligible. Each entry must be submitted and paid for individually.
The entry requirements vary by division – see below for details.
For descriptions of each category, please visit the Gold Quill site.
There are resources for entrants available on the Gold Quill site – we highly recommend reviewing these to get a sense of what evaluators are looking for when they are judging entries. But don’t forget to come back here to enter the IABC Houston Bronze Quill Awards.
How does the submission process differ for each of the divisions?
Divisions 1, 2 and 3 all require a Work Plan (template here – maximum of 4 pages) and Work Sample (PDF – maximum 2GB). See the Gold Quill site for more information on what judges will be looking for.
Division 4 requires an entry form (template here) and Work Sample. See the Gold Quill site for more information on what judges will be looking for.
What is the deadline for entering?
The entry deadlines are as follows:
Early Bird Deadline: Monday, March 2, 2026, at 12:00 a.m. CDT
Regular Deadline: Monday, March 30, 2026, at 12:00 a.m. CDT
Late Deadline: Monday, April 6, 2026 at 12:00 a.m. CDT
Winners Announced: Thursday, June 4, 2026
Deadlines are at midnight on Mondays. This means you have until 11:59 p.m. Sunday to get your entries in. There will be no deadline extensions, and entry fees increase after each deadline.
What is the Entry Fee?
Fees are unchanged from the 2025 competition. Member fees are applicable to all IABC members based in Texas.
| Membership | Early Bird Deadline | Regular Deadline | Late Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| IABC Member | $126 | $149 | $189 |
| Non-Member | $169 | $189 | $219 |
| Student | $50 | $65 | $75 |
Judging & Scoring of Entries
Who judges the entries?
Our experienced judges – senior communicators primarily from the IABC US Region – not only review and score submissions, they also provide valuable, individualized feedback (super helpful to take your winning entry to the next level with recognition at the Gold Quill level).
How are entries evaluated?
Each entry will be reviewed by two judges, and the final scores will be based on a seven-point scale. The judges also provide valuable, individualized feedback on each entry, which is one of the most valuable aspects of submitting an entry for the Bronze Quill Awards.
Each entry is evaluated on technical excellence, creativity, resourcefulness, innovation, effectiveness in identifying and responding to an organization’s or community’s needs, the delivery of measurable outcomes, and the overall success of the project.
Scoring begins at 4, which represents a fully competent approach to communication planning and execution. Work is then graded up or down the scale (between 0 and 7), depending upon the project content, based on IABC’s Global Seven-point Scale of Excellence.
In the event of a discrepancy of more than two full points between the two evaluations, a third evaluation will be required to normalize the score. The Bronze Quill Awards committee will audit all scores, and reserves the right to discard any evaluations that are not in line with the criteria or expected judging standards.
Winning Entries
What qualifies an entry as a winner?
Winners receive either an Award of Excellence for a score of 5.75 and above or an Award of Merit for a score between 5.25 to 5.74. There is no recognition for scores of less than 5.25. This is consistent with scoring for the IABC Gold Quill Awards program.
IABC’s Global Seven-point Scale of Excellence
| 7 | Outstanding: An extraordinary or insightful approach or result |
|---|---|
| 6 | Significantly better than average: Demonstrates an innovative, strategic approach; takes all elements into account and delivers significant results |
| 5 | Better than average: Demonstrates a strategic approach and aligns the communication solution with the business need to deliver meaningful results |
| 4 | Average: Competent approach or results, professionally sound and appropriate |
| 3 | Somewhat less than satisfactory: Several key elements that are critical to the strategy or execution are missing, incorrect or under-represented |
| 2 | An inadequate approach or result: A significant number of critical elements are missing |
| 1 | Poor: Work that is wrong or inappropriate |
I’ve never submitted before. Is there anywhere I can get some guidance on what a winner looks like?
We encourage you to review the resource materials on the Gold Quill site, which includes case studies from past winners, score sheets for each of the divisions so that you will know what evaluators are looking for, and other useful templates.
Where there is a discrepancy between Gold Quill instructions and Bronze Quill Award instructions, the Bronze Quill Award instructions should be followed.
When will winners be announced?
All awards will be announced and presented to winners at the 2026 Bronze Quill Awards reception, scheduled for Thursday, June 4 at 6:00 p.m. at a location in Houston currently being determined. Winners will receive a Bronze Quill Awards trophy. Anyone may attend the gala. Tickets will be available to order online prior to the event.
NOTE: Tickets are not provided to winners. You do not need to attend to win, but you certainly wouldn’t want to miss the opportunity to receive your award and be part of the celebration!
Is there a cost for the award trophy?
IABC Houston provides one award at no charge for each Bronze Quill Award winner. If you are unable to attend the awards gala, we will ship your award to you to the address provided in your award entry.
If winners would like to order duplicate awards, they may do so following the awards ceremony. All winners will be notified about the procedure for purchasing additional awards via email after the awards event.
What other recognition do winners receive?
In addition to the fun and excitement of being recognized at the Bronze Quill Awards Gala and on IABC Houston’s website, winners also receive recognition through our social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram).
We encourage all entrants to include their social media handles in their entries to amplify this promotion.
Can an entry be disqualified?
Entries may be disqualified under circumstances including but not limited to the following:
- Any element of the project violates the IABC Code of Ethics
- The entrant did not play a role in the project
- The entry depends mainly on syndicated, borrowed, reprinted or stock material
- The electronic files contain viruses; they disable or require disabling of any part of the computer system used during evaluation; or evaluators cannot view work samples using the instructions provided
- The entrant did not receive permission from a client or organization to enter the contest.
- The entry is for a proposal or plan that was never accepted or implemented