HOWELL — The Laureate, Howell High School’s literary magazine, has been awarded the First Place With Special Merit award for the 2010 American Scholastic Press Association’s Contest Review for yearbooks, magazines and newspapers.
The Laureate has been awarded firstplace honors by the American Scholastic PressAssociation for each of its annual editions since 2003.
Adviser Bridget Gage-Dixon oversees the effort it takes to produce the literary magazine, but said the students are the most important aspect of The Laureate’s continuing excellence.
“The students do the vast majority of the work, they are very diligent,” Gage-Dixon said.
In three years as The Laureate’s adviser, Gage-Dixon has helped the students enter two contests each year; the American Scholastic PressAssociation contest and the National Council of Teachers of English contest, in which they received a superior ranking for their work.
Gage-Dixon said the American Scholastic Press Association offers feedback to the students as to what may be improved the following year. She said receiving that feedback is great for the students.
Katherine Austin, editor-in-chief of The Laureate, praised Gage-Dixon for her efforts on behalf of the literary magazine.
“She is everything you can ask for in an adviser,” Austin said, adding that Gage- Dixon knows when to contribute her ideas and when to take a step back and allow the editors to share their thoughts.
Gage-Dixon said Austin “has been instrumental in setting up functions and a coffeehouse to try to drive submissions” to the magazine.
The Laureate is published once a year. Last year’s winning edition contained 37 pages of students’work, with a piece of art and a piece of writing filling each page, Austin said. Poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, art and photography make up the literary magazine.
Austin is a junior at Howell and has been on The Laureate staff for two years. Last year’s edition contained two pieces of her artwork and one photograph.
In order to determine what makes it into the magazine, each submission is judged by a staff of 30 students. A blind submission system is used in which no name is placed on the work, so it is able to be judged solely on its content, Austin said.
As this year’s edition of The Laureate was being planned, a coffeehouse was held to make students aware of the literary magazine.
The coffeehouse was held in November and was hosted by The Laureate in order to showcase the original work of Howell’s poets, writers, artists and musicians. Students were asked for a $2 entrance fee or for a submission to the magazine, Katherine said.
“It’s our way to kick off the process,” she explained.
The coffeehouse showcased students’ talents. Some students read poetry and others performed original songs they have written, Austin said.
Through the efforts of The Laureate, some students are discovering talent they did not know they had. Regular contributors to the literary magazine are using their interests to create their future.
“One of our regular contributors is going on to earn her bachelor’s degree for creative writing,” Gage-Dixon said.