Quill and Company crowns Laurel’s Next Bestseller

By ZAYNE ALI
The gym at the Laurel Multiservice Center was abuzz with excitement June 28 as the last contestant in Quill and Company’s Next Bestseller competition finished their presentation and took their seat. Contest organizers huddled on the sidelines, counting votes, though no one could hear their conversation over the upbeat music.
For close to a month, the four semifinalists, Sam Braden IV, Karla Talley, LaTasha Snell Gatling (known professionally as Tasha G) and Ja’kya Joyce, had been working toward this moment. The contest, a five-round competition that started in May, was a collaboration between Laurel-based Quill and Company and the city.
When the music faded. Dominic “Coach Nic” Colbert, contest co-host and business coach, took the podium with Quill and Company founder and CEO Robin McCormick to announce that Karla Talley had won the contest.
Quill and Company awarded Tally with full publishing and promotion services, including a national book tour, for her book, Love in the Key of Black.,
McCormick promoted the contest with high expectations that promising writers would step forward. “What I found is that I serve the niche in the market for the novice writer,” she said. “There’s people who are like, ‘I have a great story, but I don’t quite know how to tell … or develop it.’”
McCormick launched Quill and Company in 2020. An author herself, she was inspired to help others with their writing after facing significant hurdles with self-publishing. Her company offers a full range of services to aspiring writers, including personal coaching, ghostwriting and publishing assistance. Most services are offered virtually, which gives McCormick and her colleagues optimal flexibility as she works with clients and vendors.
About two dozen aspiring writers from Laurel and surrounding areas entered the contest, which began with the first round of pitch tryouts on May 24. The panel of judges included local literary professionals and educators, including Dr. Michael Dixon (who wrote The Sanctuary Method), screenwriter Paula Murrain and Heather Brooks, founder of The Write Women Book Fest.
The contest format, inspired by reality shows like American Idol, featured professional feedback and audience voting. McCormick chose this model because she felt it emphasized community engagement and rapport.
“We would create a fanbase for these contestants so that when they get to the end, if they become the next bestseller … they have that advantage up front,” she said.
After tryouts, contestants participated in three battle rounds designed to build on their initial pitches. Pairs of contestants sparred in the first two battle rounds, and all contestants sat in the audience for the third and final battle round.
Talley said that having her fellow contestants in the audience pushed her to lean into her strengths as a writer. “In the end, I didn’t really view them as ‘sparring partners’ but as cocreatives who I was working alongside as we each sharpened the articulation of our vision for our books,” she said.
The finale was a culmination of the previous battle rounds, with live voting as contestants presented their revised pitches.
Braden, who wrote Cashmere Thoughts, came in fourth. Tasha G. came in third for her work Nothing But Yet: How to Turn Your Mom Life Crisis Into Your Rebirth, and Joyce, finished second for Devil’s Night.
Now proud recipient of the contest’s quill-feather-shaped trophy, Talley is looking to marry her career as an attorney with her passion for writing. She encouraged aspiring writers to use their own vulnerability as a reliable tool. “Your writing will be so much better when you take the risk … and a lot of people will appreciate that,” she said.
After the finale, Laurel Mayor Keith Syndor said he was “very impressed” by the program and that he would be willing to continue supporting future contests as an extension of his youth-centered literacy initiatives. Colbert is enthusiastic about a Laurel Season Two, and Quill and Company aims to host similar contests in other Maryland communities.
“We want to be able to create this opportunity, not just for the city of Laurel, but for all cities,” McCormick said. “Everybody has a voice to tell. We want to give them this opportunity to share that.”

Photo Caption: Photo Caption: From left: Fourth-place winner Sam Braden IV, event co-host Dominic “Coach Nic” Colbert,, third-place winner LaTasha Snell Gatling , first-place winner Karla Talley, second-place winner Ja’kya Joyce and Quill and Company Founder/CEO Robin McCormick.