HAVERHILL — The Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) is recognizing Northern Essex Community College’s student literary magazine Parnassus with a national Pacemaker Award. This makes Parnassus one of the top student collegiate magazines in the country, as this marks the fifth time the ACP has recognized the magazine with the distinction.
“I’m so proud to be able to offer a national platform of recognition for the amazing work that our NECC community creates,” Parnassus faculty adviser Patrick Lochelt said. “It’s a huge benefit for students to help bolster their experience and resumes/portfolios for those wishing to go onto careers in creative fields and to add ‘feathers to their caps’ in ways they might not be able to otherwise.”
The Pacemaker is a significant award as only six collegiate literary arts magazines from across the country were recognized in the two-year college category. Parnassus was the only magazine selected from Massachusetts.
“The verbal and visual storytelling in the winning magazines is incredible and robust long-form stories combined with shorter quick-reads to pace the reader through the pages of the feature magazines,” Gary Lundgren, ACP associate director and coordinator of the Pacemaker competition, noted.
Other winners of the Pacemaker Award this year include Auburn University, George Mason University, Oregon State University, and the University of Miami.
“There aren’t many opportunities for creative students to get their work out on such a major level at a community college, so Parnassus is a key to the world for our local students to elevate their abilities to get their work out to wider audiences,” Lochelt said. “A community college literary magazine in Sacramento changed my life when I was a student, both from being published but also by joining the staff and realizing that writing instruction is something I could do with my life. I am a firm believer in the power of publications like Parnassus, and I know it can be a stepping stone for anyone at the college to bigger and greater things.”
Past issues of Parnassus have also been awarded and recognized by other national associations like the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, the Community College Humanities Association, and more. It was first produced at Northern Essex in 1965 making it one of the oldest institutions at the college.
The staff creates new and fresh looks to present each year, with submissions from the NECC community in the areas of fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, art, and photography. To learn more about Parnassus, contact Patrick Lochelt at plochelt@necc.mass.edu.