Local publication showcases student creativity

Butler CC is shining a spotlight on student creativity with the latest edition of The Quill, the college’s annual literary and arts feature. Packed with original poems, short stories and stunning visual art, The Quill offers a powerful platform for student expression, which publishes the best creative works from Butler students, faculty, staff and alumni. This includes short fiction and non-fiction prose, poetry and scripts. They have year-round submissions and publish one issue in the spring of every year.

Amanda Hash, the publication adviser, said that anything that gives students a creative outlet, highlights individual achievement and strengthens the community is a great asset to a college, especially one as varied as Butler is. She adds that it can always be a bit nerve-wracking to submit creative work. She always says if you’re on the fence take the plunge.

According to Hash, writing is a lot like a garden; your work grows with tending (practice) and sunlight (sharing with trusted others).

“Creative expression, whether that’s writing, artwork, singing, performing on stage, or even making video games, is all about sharing experiences and finding your voice,” Hash said. “A major part of the college experience is finding who you are and your sense of community, and the arts are a great way to do that.”

Submissions are sent to scanandquill@butlercc.edu. Hash reads through them and looks for that spark, that thing that makes your scalp tingle and your heartbeat just a bit faster when you read intriguing work. She tends to like interesting, punchy works that say something new or something old in a unique way. Generally, works that use more vivid concrete imagery and think about wording and sound devices are ones she gravitates towards.

Once she has looked through the work, Hands sends an email to the submitter with a decision. If it’s a yes, she asks for a short author bio, which is published with the work in the next edition.

“When I took over The Scan and The Quill, I wanted them to encompass the whole campus instead of just students who were already in English classes,” Hash said. “I put a heavy emphasis on trying to get the word out to the school at large, from flyers to advertisements on our digital signage around campus. I also wanted to bring in student artwork and photography to showcase what Butler could do. I think I’ve been pretty successful with that this year – in the 2025 editions, you’ll see writers from various countries, online only students, part time students, alumni, and faculty and staff as well as artwork from some of our best student artists (thank you Dean Haring for the assist!) and photography from one of our Multimedia Journalism students. Next year, I am hoping to work on a more interactive online experience to open up the possibility of some video and digital arts submissions. I’d also like to try to reach out to the art department more throughout the year to get more artwork included.”

Previously, John Jenkinson, a former professor of English, advised The Quill, but he retired in 2023.

Managing a journal is always a time commitment, but the first year taking over any project is usually the hardest since it’s hard to get the word out to the college community. Another obstacle for advisers is creating a new template from scratch; there are also production issues. It’s difficult to get the wheel turning at first, but the delight Hash has seen on

contributors’ and readers’ faces when they see this year’s issue, the excitement in their emails when they talk about picking up copies for their friends and family, that makes all the hours working on it worthwhile, she adds.

“If students are interested in learning more about creative writing or honing their skills, we have an online and a face to face opening in the fall,” Hash said. “The Scan is the academic equivalent of “The Quill.” It also takes submissions at the same email address, so if students, faculty, staff or alumni have academic work from any class or discipline they’d like to see published, send it my way.” Hash can be reached by email at ahash@butlercc.edu