{"id":624503,"date":"2026-03-12T21:23:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T02:23:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/studentpress.org\/nspa\/?p=624503"},"modified":"2026-03-17T23:12:43","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T04:12:43","slug":"2025-literary-arts-magazine-pacemaker-finalists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/studentpress.org\/nspa\/2025-literary-arts-magazine-pacemaker-finalists\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 Literary Arts Magazine Pacemaker Finalists"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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NSPA names \u2018best of the best\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Pacemaker competition recognizes 18 literary arts magazines as Pacemaker finalists<\/p>\n\n\n\n

March 12, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MINNEAPOLIS \u2014 The nation\u2019s top scholastic literary arts magazines were recognized today by the National Scholastic Press Association, which announced 18 finalists in its annual Pacemaker competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Pacemaker is the association\u2019s preeminent award,\u201d Executive Director Laura Widmer said. \u201cNSPA is honored to recognize the best of the best.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pacemaker finalists will be honored and Pacemakers announced for the first time during the awards ceremony on Saturday, April 18, at the JEA\/NSPA Spring National High School Journalism Convention<\/a> in Minneapolis.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe literary arts magazines selected by the judges reflect both classic and contemporary formats,\u201d said Gary Lundgren, associate director and coordinator of the Pacemaker competition. \u201cThe quality of the art, photography, poetry and prose showcased on the pages of these magazines is amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A team of 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, 18 finalists were named representing the top 35 percent of all entries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Literary arts magazines from 10 states earned Pacemaker-finalist status. Florida set the pace with six finalists, followed by Georgia, New York and Texas each with two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Please join us at the JEA\/NSPA Spring National High School Journalism Convention<\/a><\/strong> April 16-18, 2026, in Minneapolis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The convention offers hundreds of instructional sessions, keynote speakers from national newsmakers, dozens of media critiques, JEA\u2019s popular on-site media contests and the announcement of NSPA Pacemaker winners. NSPA also offers a convention Best of Show competition that celebrates current student media work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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2025 Literary Arts Magazine Pacemaker finalists<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

listed by state<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Labyrinth<\/strong>
Little Rock Central High School
Little Rock, Arkansas
Editor-in-chief: Robert Fullen
Adviser: Shawna Shannon<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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La<\/strong> Pluma<\/strong>
Monta Vista High School
Cupertino, California
Editors-in-chief: Ashley Kwong, Alyssa Yang
Adviser: Vennessa Nava<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Reflections Literary & Arts Magazine
<\/strong>Gulliver Preparatory School
Miami, Florida
Editors-in-chief: Gina Copetti, Valentina Mouhaffel Mattey
Adviser: Monica Rodriguez<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Literati
<\/strong>Our Lady of Lourdes Academy
Miami, Florida
Editor-in-chief: Mia Rodriguez
Adviser: Rebecca Retana<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Graphite
<\/strong>Hagerty High School
Oviedo, Florida
Editor-in-chief: Josephine Lim
Adviser: Brit Taylor<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artifex
<\/strong>Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
Parkland, Florida
Editor-in-chief: Grace Brill
Adviser: Melissa Falkowski<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pawprints
<\/strong>H.B. Plant High School
Tampa, Florida
Editors-in-chief: Meghan Burstiner, Emmy Warren
Adviser: Christina Porcelli<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Seeds in the Black Earth
<\/strong>Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts
West Palm Beach, Florida
Editor-in-chief: Tatum White
Adviser: Brittany Rigdon<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Iliad Literary-Art Magazine
<\/strong>Clarke Central High School
Athens, Georgia
Editor-in-chief: Olivia Hendershot
Adviser: David Ragsdale<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Silent Voices
<\/strong>Woodward Academy
College Park, Georgia
Editor-in-chief: Kyla Granville
Adviser: Emily Heilker<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Iris: Art + Lit
<\/strong>St. Paul Academy and Summit School
St. Paul, Minnesota
Editor-in-chief: Roman Farley
Adviser: Kathryn Campbell<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Melodrama
<\/strong>Ladue Horton Watkins High School
St. Louis, Missouri
Editor-in-chief: Arti Jain, Emily Liu
Advisers: Abby Eisenberg, Sarah Kirksey<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Perspectives
<\/strong>Sacred Heart Greenwich
Greenwich, New York
Editors-in-chief: Ellie Dodman, Moira Marangi, Emily Shull
Advisers: Cristina Baptista, Danielle Gennaro, Marnie McLaughlin, Bill Mottolese<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Vision
<\/strong>Hackley School
Tarrytown, New York
Editor-in-chief: Francesca Jones
Adviser: Jessica Bottalico<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Roars & Whispers
<\/strong>Providence Senior High School
Charlotte, North Carolina
Editors-in-chief: Akshara Gudipati, Molly Young
Adviser: Pamela Mann<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Odyssey
<\/strong>James Bowie High School
Austin, Texas
Editors-in-chief: Manning Adkins, Isabella Anderson, Ryleigh Carrasco, Ryan Cruz, Atlas Garance, Hannah Salz
Advisers: Jacob Morgan, Lindsey Shirack<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mini-Marque
<\/strong>St. Mark’s School of Texas (Middle School)
Dallas, Texas
Editors-in-chief: Nathan Aurora, Alekh Desai
Adviser: Danielle Clayton<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Talon
<\/strong>Woodberry Forest School
Woodberry Forest, Virginia
Editors-in-chief: Gray Kallen, Brooks McCall
Advisers: John Amos, Charles Campbell Wright<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NSPA names \u2018best of the best\u2019 Pacemaker competition recognizes 18 literary arts magazines as Pacemaker finalists March 12, 2026 MINNEAPOLIS \u2014 The nation\u2019s top scholastic literary arts magazines were recognized today by the National Scholastic Press Association, which announced 18 finalists in its annual Pacemaker competition. \u201cThe Pacemaker is the association\u2019s preeminent award,\u201d Executive Director […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentpress.org\/nspa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/624503"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentpress.org\/nspa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentpress.org\/nspa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentpress.org\/nspa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentpress.org\/nspa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=624503"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/studentpress.org\/nspa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/624503\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":624535,"href":"https:\/\/studentpress.org\/nspa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/624503\/revisions\/624535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentpress.org\/nspa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=624503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentpress.org\/nspa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=624503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentpress.org\/nspa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=624503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}