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NSPA Winners

2010 NSPA Magazine Pacemaker Winners

View contest press release

View judges' comments

Iliad, Clarke Central HS, Athens, Ga.
Gayatri Setia, Lauren Corcino, editors
David Ragsdale, adviser

Muse, Northview HS, Johns Creek, Ga.
Jennifer Champagne, Kate Lynch, editors
Judy Ritter, adviser

New Pennies, De Kalb HS, De Kalb, Ill.
Victoria Martinez, editor
Christopher Lapeyre, adviser

The Essence, Neuqua Valley HS, Naperville, Ill.
Martin Amesquita, Lauren Blackburn, Karina Mangusheva, editors
Gillian Schneider, adviser

Labyrinth, Trinity HS, Euless, Texas
Mico Francia, Toni Taterevich, editors
Marylin Nease/Melissa Mieyr, advisers

Tesserae, Rowland Hall-St. Mark's School, Salt Lake City, Utah
Aria Thaker, Jade Conlee, editors
Joel Long, adviser

Chasms, Copper Hills HS, West Jordan, Utah
Sam Wood, Terysa Dyer, Rylec Padilla, editors
Louis Jessop, adviser

2010 NSPA Magazine Pacemaker Finalists

First Flight, Torrey Pines HS, San Diego, Calif.
Amanda Yuan, Lara Brill, editors
Mia Boardman Smith, adviser

Mirage, Seminole Ridge HS, Loxahatchee, Fla.
Carly Gates, adviser

Iliad, Clarke Central HS, Athens, Ga.
Gayatri Setia, Lauren Corcino, editors
David Ragsdale, adviser

Rapier, Marist School, Atlanta, Ga.
Andrea Jacome, Kerry Cogan, Michele Nofi, Genie Arcila, editors
Naitnaphit Limlamai/Patrick DeAngelis, advisers

Silent Voices, Woodward Academy, College Park, Ga.
Elizabeth Dupre, Sara Cohen, Asher Lipsett, editors
Carolyn Haldeman/Sandra P. Slider, advisers

Muse, Northview HS, Johns Creek, Ga.
Jennifer Champagne, Kate Lynch, editors
Judy Ritter, adviser

New Pennies, De Kalb HS, De Kalb, Ill.
Victoria Martinez, editor
Christopher Lapeyre, adviser

The Essence, Neuqua Valley HS, Naperville, Ill.
Martin Amesquita, Lauren Blackburn, Karina Mangusheva, editors
Gillian Schneider, adviser

Colophon, Towson HS, Towson, Md.
Katie Golden, Leah Keller, Emily Romano, Uduak Umoh, Maggie Dier, Emma Popp, Ahmed Ibrahim, editors
William Jones/Dori Stickles, advisers

Roars and Whispers, Providence Sr. HS, Charlotte, N.C.
Marva Hutchinson, adviser

Labyrinth, Trinity HS, Euless, Texas
Mico Francia, Toni Taterevich, editors
Marylin Nease/Melissa Mieyr, advisers

Tesserae, Rowland Hall-St. Mark's School, Salt Lake City, Utah
Aria Thaker, Jade Conlee, editors
Joel Long, adviser

Chasms, Copper Hills HS, West Jordan, Utah
Sam Wood, Terysa Dyer, Rylec Padilla, editors
Louis Jessop, adviser

Arrow Literary Magazine, Renton HS, Renton, Wash.
Olivia Fry, editor
Derek Smith, adviser

Judges' comments:
Of the various and impressive literary magazines we had the pleasure to review, these fourteen finalists best demonstrate the balance of quality writing and editing, stunning visual imagery, and attention to layout and design that make for a cohesive and challenging magazine as art object.

All of these magazines suggest the careful planning that went into them. But among the finalists we see a variety of styles and approaches. From newsprint to hardcover and from dark themes to light, we see that there isn’t a single right way to put a great magazine together.

Highlights include:

1. Michael Woods, writing in Arrow from Renton High School in Renton, WA, gives a preternaturally sophisticated telling of that least sophisticated of events: the middle school dance.

2. iliad of Clarke Central High School in Athens, GA, organized the 34th volume of their magazine around the theme coffee break, and did so without stifling the individual pieces or losing track over the overarching product.

3. Labyrinth from Trinity High School in Euless, TX, put together a big book that commands the reader’s attention—and rewards that attention with, among other things, a great collection of photography.

4. Tesserae (Rowland Hall, Salt Lake City) features a gentle combination of art and letters. But the work itself is powerful good for gentle—shout out to Jade Conlee!

5. In Colophon (Towson High School, Towson, MD), J. T. Marchant edits a documentary that is actually the author’s very self—these are young students, but don’t be confused: the stakes are high.

6. DeKalb High’s students took the classical theme of the chimeric and made it their own in New Pennies, finding common ground over a broad range of genres, including drama and musical score.

7. Color, typography, and design were used to particularly good effect in Chasms from Cooper Hills High School, backing up the writing and taking the reader on a journey of form and mood.