By Jace Gibson ’26
Shenandoah University’s Avalon Literature and Arts Magazine recently was recognized as a “distinguished” magazine by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).
This year, schools in 46 states and five countries nominated 422 student magazines. Magazines from middle school, high school, and higher education were welcomed for the 2024 contest. Over the summer, Avalon was submitted for the Recognizing Excellence in Art and Literary Magazines (REALM) contest following the release of its Spring 2024 edition. The contest judges granted Avalon the distinction of “distinguished” after affirming that it excelled in its variety of voice, editing and proofing.
It’s been a good year for Avalon. Seeing us break our submission record only a few months before winning this distinction has been bonkers. I see only good things over the horizon for Avalon and its editorial team.”
Jon Udelson, Ph.D., associate professor of English and faculty adviser for Avalon
The REALM program publicly recognizes excellent literary magazines produced by students with the support of their teachers. REALM is designed to encourage all schools to develop literary magazines that celebrate the art and craft of writing. Schools in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories, Canada, and American schools abroad are eligible to nominate magazines. More information about the REALM program is available at ncte.org.
While Shenandoah University’s Avalon Literature and Arts Magazine has traditionally only included submissions from Shenandoah students, this past year the magazine broadened its submissions to include works from other universities as well. As a result, Avalon’s Fall 2024 edition received over 150 submissions. Now, with over a dozen student editors, Avalon is bigger than ever, and is continuing to grow with each submission.
It seems that every semester we break a record, surprise ourselves, and are able to continue pushing the envelope of what growth truly means for us. Whether I am working on Avalon or simply reading it, It always makes me feel like I am coming home.”
Katherine Weinhold ’25, editor-in-chief at Avalon
Avalon is currently open for submissions, and any student who may be interested, regardless of school, is encouraged to submit their work for publication. The submission deadline for the Spring 2025 edition is March 16, and the submission guidelines can be found at su.edu/avalon.
About The National Council of Teachers of English
The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) is devoted to improving the teaching and learning of English and the language arts at all levels of education. As the nation’s oldest organization of pre-K through graduate school literacy educators, NCTE has a rich history of deriving expertise and advocacy from its members’ professional research, practice, and knowledge. NCTE is the home of the Intellectual Freedom Center, the National Day on Writing®, ReadWriteThink.org, the Build Your Stack® initiative, and NCTE Verse. NCTE supports nearly 20,000 teachers across the preK–college spectrum, with a mailing list of over 500,000, more than 100,000 followers on Facebook and Twitter, and regularly sees more than 100,000 visitors in web traffic monthly. For more information, please visit www.ncte.org.
About Shenandoah University
Shenandoah University was established in 1875, and is headquartered at the top of Virginia, in Winchester, Virginia, with additional educational sites in Clarke and Loudoun counties, and online offerings. Shenandoah is a private, nationally recognized university that blends professional career experiences with wide-ranging education. With approximately 4,400 students in more than 200 areas of study in six different schools, Shenandoah promotes a close-knit community rich in creative energy and intellectual challenge. Shenandoah students collaborate with accomplished professors who provide focused, individual attention, all the while leading several programs to be highly nationally ranked. Through innovative partnerships and programs at both the local and global level, there are exceptional opportunities for students to learn in and out of the classroom. Shenandoah empowers its students to improve the human condition and to be principled professionals and leaders wherever they go. For more information, visit su.edu.
