The Colton Review is not only well-loved here at Meredith College.
This literary journal received recognition from the entire state of North Carolina at the 2026 N.C. College Media Conference (NCCMA), taking home three awards, including a Best in Show.
Staff members from The Colton Review arrived bright and early at Elon University on February 28, ready for a day of awards, speakers, and above all, community.
“The first thing that you get out of anything like this is just a sense of energy that is around something that you love to do,” said Ashley Hogan, faculty literary advisor of The Colton Review. “That’s number one. The sense of community with other college writers and college media students.”
The annual NCCMA conference is one of the few opportunities for writers, editors, and designers representing college publications from across the state to gather and share their emerging voices in the world of media.
Students had their choice of nearly 20 breakout sessions on everything from the rights of student journalists to the creation process of a literary magazine, allowing them to tailor their conference experience to their specific interests.
“[It’s] a wonderful opportunity to connect with what other artists and writers and creators are doing and see how young people can shape the media that we consume and hopefully shape the future of media in America,” said Katie Avants, ’27, co-managing editor of The Colton Review.
Meredith students not only had the chance to connect with their peers, but also to hear firsthand from some of the best in the North Carolina media industry.
“The managing editors of The Charlotte Observer and The News and Observer were here,” said Hogan. “It’s a fantastic networking event, and it shows students [the] people in the professional roles that they’re interested in pursuing.”
As the time for the awards ceremony drew closer, the energy among the conference attendees became palpable. An excited hum filled the air as students flooded into Elon’s Turner Theatre in anticipation of taking an award back home to their college.
For the staff members of The Colton Review, there was every reason to look forward to the awards presentation.
Facing competition from the largest institutions in North Carolina, The Colton Review took home awards in three categories – a testimony to all the hard work that went into the creation of the latest issue.
In addition to winning a Best in Show award for literary magazines, The Colton Review earned an Honorable Mention in Poetry for “Tribulations” by Grayson Morris, ’26, and Second Place in Art/Photography for “Momento Mori” by Perla Gerez, ʼ26.
Hogan took a moment to celebrate how far The Colton Review has come.
“With The Colton Review, the reward of having that book to hold to show for all the hard work you put into it is so satisfying,” she said. “I have loved, over the past several years at Meredith, seeing the creative writing community grow. It used to be years ago that we would have to recruit people to submit to The Colton Review, and now we have more entries than we can publish.”
With three new awards added to The Colton Review’s impressive collection, which includes Best in Show honors from 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2023, the creative community at Meredith is only growing stronger.
Explore the latest issue of The Colton Review at coltonreview.com.
Plan your trip to the next NCCMA conference and explore past speakers at the NCCMA website.
Photo Information: Minutes after winning a Best in Show award, Maya Nelson, Katie Avants, Ashley Hogan, and Gianna Pasquale stand proudly with the newly earned plaque on Elon University’s campus at the 2026 NCCMA conference.
Melyssa Allen – News Director
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(919) 760-8087 | Fax: (919) 760-8330 | allenme@meredith.edu