Each year, the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) recognizes outstanding student-run literary magazines across the nation.  And VARIATIONS, our very own literary and creative arts magazine here at NASH, stepped up to deliver.

“We want to be a voice of NASH, kind of like a conduit for the school’s creativity,” Editor-in-Chief Riley Smith said.

On Tuesday, January 23, the 2017 edition of VARIATIONS was announced as one of five works to receive the highest award in Pennsylvania, continues a hot streak of excellence. Besides winning two other awards this year, VARIATIONS won the same award last year, for its 2016 edition, being the only magazine in Pennsylvania to do so. Additionally, it has been declared “excellent” or “superior” by the NCTE every year since 2011.

The literary and art magazine, comprised entirely of student submissions, was founded in 1974 and is currently in its 44th year. Each year, a student staff and two faculty sponsors, Ms. Esposito and Ms. Lombardi, meet after school weekly to evaluate submissions and format the magazine. The final product features poems, short stories, photography, paintings, and drawings and can be purchased in May.

“I really liked the quirky pieces scattered all across,” Editor-in-Chief Riley Smith said. “People tend to think teenagers can’t say something profound, but from what I’ve seen over the years, we can be funny, we can be intelligent, and we can be thought provoking.”

Mrs. Esposito agreed. She pointed out that the purpose of the magazine is to showcase student talent at NASH and that the consistently outstanding quality of the submissions was a major contributor to last year’s success.

Not a group to rest on their laurels, the VARIATIONS staff is meticulously assembling the 2018 edition, and there’s still time to submit.  Literary and visual art works can be submitted on Blackboard under NASH Information.

A digital version of the award-winning 2017 edition is available here.