National Council of Teachers of English grants ‘Distinguished’ status to ‘Echoes’ staff at Mount

The “Echoes” literary magazine, which is published by the students at Mount Saint Mary Academy, Watchung, recently received “Distinguished” status from the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) for its edition entitled, “Utopia.” This honor marks the 12th year in a row that students have produced literary publications worthy of recognizable merit. The upcoming theme of this year’s magazine will be “Nostalgia.”

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.

Dr. Joseph Bonk, English Department chairperson, said, “I’m very proud of our students for their initiative and vision during the process of inventing and compiling last year’s magazine.”

One of the editors of “Utopia,” senior Lila Keller, reflected, “The 2024 edition of “Echoes” was definitely a labor of love. Our editing team’s ambitious plans to adapt the theme of Utopia/Dystopia into the book’s layout took a lot of work and luckily turned out great. I’m so honored to receive the Distinguished ranking and I’m looking forward to “Echoes” 2025: ‘Nostalgia.’”

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, US territories, Canada, and American schools abroad are eligible to nominate magazines.