Jabberwokk, Inkslinger named NSPA Pacemaker Finalists, staff members earn individual honors from CSPA

Both the 2024 Jabberwokk yearbook and the 2024 Inkslinger literary magazine were named Pacemaker finalists by the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA).

Known as the NSPA's preeminent award, the Pacemaker recognizes the "best of the best" in scholastic journalism, and earning this award is tantamount to winning a national championship.

Although the Jabberwokk and Inkslinger did not win the Pacemaker, this was the Jabberwokk's first Pacemaker nomination since Volume 90 in 2016 and the Inkslinger's first Pacemaker nomination since Volume 36 in 2019. It was the first and only time both publications were nominated at the same time.

Additionally, four Jabberwokk staff members have earned six individual certificates of merit from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) for their work in 2024's Volume 98. The Gold Circle Awards recognize individual work by scholastic journalists at the national level. This placement represents the first time a Darlington student has earned a Gold Circle Award since 2016's Volume 90. Darlington students earned the following Gold Circle Awards:

• Certificate of Merit in the "Feature writing: Student Life" category – Aiden Parsa ('24): "One Kid. One Kidney."
• Certificate of Merit in the "Academic photo" category – William Holmes ('27): "Folded Love"
• Certificate of Merit in the "Photo portfolio" category – Kaya Nadu ('26)
• Certificate of Merit in the "Academic spread: one spread" category – Ariel Xu ('24): "Zoologists in Training"
• Certificate of Merit in the "Organization or Greeks spread: one spread" category – Ariel Xu ('24): "Eat, Sleep, Perform, Repeat"
• Certificate of Merit in the "Design portfolio" category – Ariel Xu ('24)

These honors are the latest in a string of accomplishments by the 2024 Jabberwokk and Inkslinger staff members.

In the fall, the 2024 Jabberwokk earned the All-Georgia distinction from the Georgia Scholastic Press Association (GSPA), distinguishing the yearbook as the best in the state for the second year in a row. Both the Jabberwokk and Inkslinger earned Superior critiques, and the Jabberwokk earned back-to-back perfect scores. Jabberwokk staff members racked up 10 individual honors from the GSPA, three of which were named best in Georgia, and Inkslinger staff members won four individual honors.

From the NSPA, the 2024 Jabberwokk earned an All-American critique with five marks of distinction, and the 2024 Inkslinger earned a First Class critique with two marks of distinction. Additionally, at the JEA/NSPA Fall National High School Journalism Convention in Philadelphia, the Jabberwokk earned sixth place in the 257-304-page division of NSPA's Best of Show competition.

The following students served on the award-winning 2024 Jabberwokk and Inkslinger staffs:

Jabberwokk
Editors:
Aiden Parsa ('24) – Editor in Chief
Sophie Piller ('26) – Managing Editor
Kaya Nadu ('26) – Photo Editor
Murray Ellington ('26) – Design Editor
Ariel Xu ('24) – Design Editor
Mia Curlee ('25) – Copy Editor
Sidney Rush ('26) – Social Media Editor
Staff:
Timofe Anthony-Sawyerr ('24)
Toby Burns ('26)
Kalli Cleland ('26)
Callie Dempsey ('27)
Presley Dixon ('26)
Gigi Frognet ('26)
Emmett Holcombe ('27)
William Holmes ('27)
Bryn Merritt ('26)
Jaylen Patel ('26)
Isabella Rogers ('26)
Parker Song ('24)
Gabriel Woodard ('24)
Clara York ('26)
Chloe Zhao ('24)

Inkslinger
Editors:
Julia Beauchamp ('25) – Editor in Chief
Emily Richie ('25) – Managing Editor
Karina Patel ('24) – Design Editor
Alex Tran ('24) – Design Editor
Staff:
Ariel Xu ('24)
Arike Akinbolagbe ('25)
Kathleen Hwang ('25)
Daelyn Lee ('25)
Tri Pham ('25)
Sarah Kathryn McQueen ('26)
Sophie Strickland ('26)
Emma Trieu ('27)