NSPA names ‘best of the best’

Pacemaker competition recognizes
seven literary arts magazines for publishing excellence

April 6, 2024

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI — Honoring the nation’s best, National Scholastic Press Association named seven scholastic literary arts magazines as prestigious Pacemaker winners.

The literary arts magazine winners, plus the 2023 Innovation Pacemaker, 2023 Online Pacemaker and 2023 Yearbook Pacemaker winners, were announced for the first time during the closing awards ceremony of the JEA/NSPA Spring National High School Journalism Convention, on April 6.

“The Pacemaker is the association’s preeminent award,” Executive Director Laura Widmer said. “NSPA is honored to recognize the best of the best.”

The NSPA Pacemaker, one of the oldest awards for scholastic journalism, has a rich tradition. The association started presenting the prestigious award to high school newspapers soon after the organization was founded in 1921. Throughout the years, yearbooks, magazines, online sites and broadcast programs were added to the competition. 

A team of three judges studied every entry, discussing its strengths. The status of each entry was agreed upon by at least two of the three judges. 

When the process was completed, 17 literary arts magazines, representing the top 35 percent of all entries, were named as 2023 Pacemaker finalists on March 1.

The seven Pacemakers represent six states. In all, entries from 10 states were recognized as either finalists or Pacemaker winners. Florida led with five magazines receiving recognition, followed by Illinois, Missouri and Texas each with two.

“The literary arts magazines selected by the judges reflect both classic and contemporary formats,” said Gary Lundgren, associate director and coordinator of the Pacemaker competition. “The quality of the art, photography, poetry and prose showcased on the pages of these magazines is amazing.”

Award-winning literary arts magazine advisers from three states served on the judging team. Judges did not participate in the evaluation or discussion of magazines from their own schools.

Rebecca Cox, Arkansas, retired
Laurie Hansen, Minnesota, retired
David Ragland, Georgia

To reflect trends in scholastic publishing, a specialty magazine category was added to the Pacemaker competition in 2018 to recognize niche magazines devoted to in-depth reporting on a single topic. Five 2023 Specialty Magazines Pacemaker winners were announced in November.

La Pluma
Monta Vista High School
Cupertino, California
Editor-in-chief: Annika Lee
Adviser: Vennessa Nava

Literati
Our Lady of Lourdes Academy
Miami, Florida
Editors-in-chief: Paola Lista, Danielle Noriega
Adviser: Rebecca Retana

Artifex
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
Parkland, Florida
Editor-in-chief: Aisha Hashmi
Adviser: Melissa Falkowski

Iliad Literary-Art Magazine
Clarke Central High School
Athens, Georgia
Editor-in-chief: Kaija Gilbertson Hall
Adviser: David Ragsdale

Menagerie
Lyons Township High School
La Grange, Illinois
Editors-in-chief: Natalie Hess, Lindsey Wilson
Advisers: Angela Gutierrez, Joseph Maffey, Mary Rohlicek

Melodrama
Ladue Horton Watkins High School
St. Louis, Missouri
Editor-in-chief: Olivia Hu
Adviser: Sarah Kirksey

Roars and Whispers
Providence Senior High School
Charlotte, North Carolina
Editors-in-chief: Ruby Davis, Audrey Henderson, Jonathan Obele
Adviser: Marva Hutchinson