Jabberwokk, Inkslinger earn high marks at state, national levels

The 2025 Jabberwokk yearbook and Inkslinger literary magazine have racked up individual and staff awards at the state and national level since their publication at the end of last school year.

The Jabberwokk yearbook earned an All-American critique with four marks of distinction, and the Inkslinger earned a First Class critique with two marks of distinction.

At the JEA/NSPA Fall National High School Journalism Convention in Nashville on Nov. 15, the Inkslinger earned eighth place in the literary magazine division of NSPA's Best of Show competition — the first time the magazine has placed in nearly a decade.

Also in Nashville, four staff members were named NSPA individual award finalists, earning recognition for their work at the national level. This is the first time that any Darlington Student Publications staff member has earned this individual recognition by the NSPA:

• Design of the Year
  • Literary/Specialty Magazine Cover – “Equilibrium” (Inkslinger) – Temira Bolds (Honorable Mention)
  • Artwork – “Forever Rotating” (Inkslinger) – Kathleen Hwang (Honorable Mention)
• Portfolio of the Year
  • Designer of the Year – Murray Ellington (Jabberwokk, Honorable Mention)
  • Photojournalist of the Year – Will Holmes (Jabberwokk, Honorable Mention)

Adviser Ethan Pender was also named a JEA Rising Star this fall. These awards are presented to advisers in their first five years of advising who have shown great dedication to scholastic journalism and have had success advising at least one media program.

Furthermore, Jabberwokk 2025 will appear in Vol. 31 of Varsity Yearbook's Portfolio. Importantly, for the second year in a row, the Jabberwokk will be featured in the "best of the best" section—the Anthology—where it will receive its own spread and be showcased as an example to other schools of best practices.

At the regional level, for the first time ever, the Jabberwokk was named a finalist for the 2026 Scroggins Award by the Southern Interscholastic Press Association in December. The award recognizes top media programs as the best in the South, and winners will be announced in March.

At the state level, the Jabberwokk and Inkslinger continue to shine. This month, the Jabberwokk and Inkslinger earned a "Superior" and "Excellent" designation, respectively, and staff members earned 13 individual awards from the Georgia Scholastic Press Association (GSPA).

The following staff members earned individual awards in the following categories (works marked as "All-Georgia" denote that student's work was named best in the state of Georgia for that category):

• News Photograph (Jabberwokk)
  • ALL-GEORGIA – “Family Feast” – Jaylen Patel ('26)
• Sports Photograph (Jabberwokk)
  • ALL-GEORGIA – “Crossing Muddy Waters” – Wyatt Nance ('26)
  • SUPERIOR – “Mat Master” – Will Holmes ('27)
• Portrait Photograph (Jabberwokk)
  • SUPERIOR – “All I See is Fireworks” – Jacky Zhu ('28)
• Photo Essay (Jabberwokk)
  • ALL-GEORGIA – “RUMPUS” – Skai Albury ('25), Will Holmes ('27), Jiahao Luo ('25), Kaya Nadu ('26)
• Information Graphics (Jabberwokk)
  • SUPERIOR – “Your Choice, Your Voice” – Murray Ellington ('26)
• Spread Design (Jabberwokk)
  • ALL-GEORGIA – “Easy as ABC” – Emmett Holcombe ('27)
• Advertising Design (Jabberwokk)
  • SUPERIOR – “Blair Moseley’s senior ad” – Rain Wang ('26)
• Theme Development (Jabberwokk)
  • ALL-GEORGIA – Jabberwokk Staff (first-ever All-Georgia for Darlington in this category)
• Poem (Inkslinger)
  • ALL-GEORGIA – “Glass Cage” – Sarah Kathryn McQueen ('26)
• Short Story (Inkslinger)
  • ALL-GEORGIA – “The Author’s Love” – Alli Robinson ('25) (first-ever All-Georgia for Darlington in this category)
• Artwork (Inkslinger)
  • ALL-GEORGIA – “Forever Rotating” – Kathleen Hwang ('25) (first-ever All-Georgia for Darlington in this category)
• Photograph (Inkslinger)
  • SUPERIOR – “Dew Drop” – Sophie Strickland ('26)

The following students served on the award-winning 2025 Jabberwokk and Inkslinger staffs:

• Jabberwokk
  • Editors:
    • Charlie Patel ('25) – Editor in Chief
    • Atlas Kosedag ('25) – Coverage Editor
    • Jaylen Patel ('26) – Reference Editor
    • Sophie Piller ('26) – Copy Chief
    • Kaya Nadu ('26) – Photo Editor
    • Murray Ellington ('26) – Design Editor
    • Clara York ('26) – Social Media Editor
    • Toby Burns ('26) – Copy Editor
    • Bryn Merritt ('26) – Copy Editor
  • Staff:
    • Skai Albury ('25)
    • Davis Carney ('28)
    • Olivia Chen ('26)
    • Kalli Cleland ('26)
    • Grady Ferguson ('27)
    • Emmett Holcombe ('27)
    • Will Holmes ('27)
    • Tristan Leezer ('28)
    • Jiahao Luo ('25)
    • Wyatt Nance ('26)
    • Isabella Rogers ('26)
    • Sidney Rush ('26)
    • Rain Wang ('26)
    • Jacky Zhu ('28)
• Inkslinger
  • Editors:
    • Sophie Strickland ('26) – Editor in Chief
    • Hayes Parsa ('26) – Coverage Editor
    • Temira Bolds ('26) – Design Editor
    • Sarah Kathryn McQueen ('26) – Copy Editor
    • Julia Beauchamp ('25) – Social Media Editor
  • Staff:
    • Makayla Edorhe ('26)
    • Caroline Sawhill ('27)