Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: Tyler Junior College Entry Title: The Bell Tower Arts Journal Entry Credit: The Bell Tower Arts Journal Staff Judge Comment: The design is visually interesting while being easy to read. The art varies in quality. The poetry is strong, including the mastery of literary devices. The prose is clear and clean, if simple, and lacks originality in parts, but it is creative on the whole.
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: Tarrant County College - Trinity River Entry Title: Roots & Reflections Literary and Arts Magazine Entry Credit: Milo Koenig, Vanessa Espinosa, Edwin Barrera, Taylor Pels-Hernandez Judge Comment: This issue’s theme of reconciliation led to a touching collection of art and writing. There were minor proofing issues, but overall, the writing was clear and heartfelt. The prose could be stronger, but the emotion conveyed was sincere. The design element of lines provided visual cohesion without being overused. Quality and maturity of the prose varies.
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: UT-Rio Grande Valley Entry Title: Gallery 2022 Entry Credit: Denisse Zecca, Jessi Mata Judge Comment: Beautiful covers, several obvious proofing errors, the black text on a red background is hard to read, but otherwise a visually compelling publication. The comics are well executed, the art adds dimension to the storytelling, and the colors of individual layouts go together with occasional well-placed colored text highlighting themes. The layout design otherwise could be better (for example, empty columns and distracting notebook lines that don’t align with the text in front of them), but as a whole, this is a very good issue with a broad collection of talented contributors.
Place Name: Honorable Mention Contestant Name: Midwestern Entry Title: Voices: 2021-2022 Entry Credit: Ashton Bayliss, Abigail Defore, Connor Lee, Stephanie Robledo Judge Comment: The poetry has a strong sense of place identity. Visually, it is simple, but the minimalism is an aid to the strength of the imagery in the pieces. The prose shows an emotional awareness that is a foundation of compelling writing. Though these writers have room to grow, there’s a lot of potential in these pieces, and these students should be proud of their work. Proofing issues were minor and few. Visual art adds to the emphasis throughout the issue on humanity from life to death to that place of grief that bridges. The diversity of ages and perspectives tied together by this theme results in an overall publication that is excellent and compelling.
Competition Comment: Great work to all entries this year. A general note to make sure you are proofreading your publications. Have a fresh set of eyes on it from front to back. And use a tool online to make sure your colors have adequate contrast for visibility. It's better to stick to white text on black than to have a colorful publication that your audience can't read.
