Two Preston Hollow schools are among only six in the state recognized by the National Council of Teachers of English for producing the highest quality literary magazines.

 

The 2003-2004 editions of Hillcrest High School ’s Calliope and Episcopal School of Dallas’ Itinerary earned the ranking “Recommended for Highest Award” in the council’s Program to Recognize Excellence in Student Literary Magazines. The awards were announced in February.

 

“We feel really, really fortunate to do so well,” Episcopal School of Dallas adviser Christine Gonzales says. “I’m just so proud of what the kids are capable of doing when you give them the freedom and the time.”

 

Budget constraints restricted Hillcrest to entering one contest with its magazine, adviser Beth Ann McGaffey says, and she chose the council’s.

 

“This is the highest we’ve ever gotten. That’s a real honor,” she says. “The kids were just so proud about it. We’re hoping that we’ll do that well again this year.”

 

The council evaluates the magazines for literary content and production. The quality and variety of writing weighs heavily, but artistic elements and presentation also count.

 

The council ranks as “ Superior ” magazines that score 91 or more points on a 100-point scale. From those, it chooses a select few publications that fulfill “extraordinary standards of excellence.”

 

Both teachers say their students run the operations — choosing the submissions, editing the copy and designing the pages. Episcopal School of Dallas students volunteer their time, working after school and on weekends to produce their 80-page publication.

 

“So it’s totally a labor of love for them; they don’t get any credit or grade,” Gonzales says. “I organize; I advise; I bring food, and I cheerlead.”

 

Hillcrest students produce the 100-plus page Calliope as part of a class. Last year’s editor Christopher Thompson says they made diversity a priority and aggressively recruited works representing different cultures and academic levels.

 

“The fact that we did it all ourselves with black and white photos and including all types of works, … I was just really thrilled,” Thompson says.

 

Staff members even taught creative writing workshops at elementary and middle schools, then incorporated the younger students’ work into the magazine. The Junior League awarded a grant to support Calliope based on the program, McGaffey says.

 

Anna Finley, Itinerary’s art editor, says the magazine is a place that values art and creativity.

 

“I didn’t think something like this existed,” she says. “I really enjoy it because a literary magazine does so much to recognize and honor the arts in our school.”

 

Itinerary also won a Silver Crown Award from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association and was named a finalist for the National Scholastic Press Association’s Pacemaker Award. 

 

The new edition of Itinerary comes out May 7. The staff will celebrate that night with a “coffeehouse” featuring student readings, a guest poet and live music.

 

“It celebrates the extraordinary kids that come out of this school every year,” Gonzales says of the magazine.