2026 Persky Awards Celebrate the Best of Milton Student Publications

The 47th Persky Awards recognized the best writing and artwork in Milton Academy student publications, honoring students whose work in journalism, fiction, and photography excelled across the academic year.

Author, poet, educator, and former Milton parent Dan Chiasson P’ 23 ’25 spoke at the ceremony, celebrating the artistry and craft of the students’ work. He extolled the virtues of creative “gaps”—the moments in which creators pause from a specific effort—as essential to the finished product. Time spent pondering, stepping away, or even shelving a piece for a lengthy period, may feel wasteful as artificial intelligence tools promote efficiency above everything, he said, but it’s what sets great works apart.

Revered writers and artists make the most of those gaps, as frustrating as they feel in the moment. Emily Dickinson’s ink blots indicated by their size how long her pen stopped moving, Chiasson noted; other artists have taken years away from pieces, only to find that the time away improves their work immeasurably. What may seem inefficient in the days of rapid computer generation is what makes human writing priceless, he argued.   

“We know that human writing happens in time; we know from our own experiences and the testimony of many, many great writers that writing-time is variable, plastic, marked by long periods of foundering and sudden adrenalized bursts; it pools and flows; it gets stoppered and unstoppered,” Chiasson said. “I wish you all the best in your writing lives as you face the terror of the blinking cursor seemingly entirely on your own. But you are not on your own: you have your mind for company, and you have each other.”

The following students received honors:

Persky Awards For Excellence in Poetry and Fiction

EmmaRose Zilla ’26, Magus Mabus
Jiner Huang ’28, Magus Mabus

Persky Awards for Excellence in Fiction and Creative Nonfiction

Ruth Chen ’26, Magus Mabus
Claire Salvato ’26, Magus Mabus
Chloe Yeo ’26, Magus Mabus
Tiffany Jin ’28, Magus Mabus

Persky Awards for Artwork Showcased in Student Publications

Leo Wan ’28, Magus Mabus
Nic Lau ’28, Magus Mabus
Aruzhan Nugmanova ’28, Magus Mabus
Isabella Chen ’29, Magus Mabus
Edward Qiu ’27, Magus Mabus
Charlotte Banbury ’26, F-Word
Rachel Pang ’27, F-Word

Persky Awards for Journalism and Academic Writing in Student Publications

Best Science Article

Ali Hamoda ’29, Piece of Mind

Best Editorial

The Milton Measure
The Milton Paper

Best Opinion Writer

Jiner Huang ’28, The Milton Paper

Best Opinion Article (non-Milton Topic)

Rhys Adams ’26, The Milton Paper

Best Opinion Article (Milton Topic)

Rhys Adams ’26 and Madeleine Wu ’27, The Milton Paper

Best News Writer

Elizabeth Sim ’27, The Milton Measure
Harris Felix ’27, The Milton Paper

Best News Story

Elizabeth Sim ’27, The Milton Measure
Honorable mention: Shira Keitner ’27, The Milton Measure

Best Feature (Milton Topic)

Gustavo dos Reis ’26, The Milton Measure
Chloe Yeo ’26, The Milton Measure

Best Feature (non-Milton Topic)

Matthew Li ’26, The Milton Measure

Best Sports Writing

Molly O’Brien ’26, The Milton Paper

Best Milton Sports Article

Catherine Wang ’28, The Milton Paper

Best Sports Feature

Jai Malhotra ’26, The Milton Measure

Best Arts Reporting, Milton Topic

Annabelle Chen  ’28, The Milton Paper

Best Arts Writing, non-Milton Topic

Ren Hirose ’28, The Arch
Victoria Kirkham ’26, The Milton Paper

Best Sustained Coverage of a Topic

The Milton Paper

Montse Martínez Vindas ’26

Chloe Yeo ’26

Gustavo dos Reis ’26

Inéz Velázquez Correa ’27

Jiner Huang ’28

Aava Darvish ’27

Tom Tang ’26

Leo Wan ’28

Lucas Xia ’28
 

Best Layout

Montse Martínez Vindas ’26, The Milton Paper
 

Persky Awards to Acknowledge the Work Dedicated to the Production of the Yearbook

Henry Mannino ’26
Jack Belyea ’26
Amy Khaing ’27
Brady Sugrue ’26

Fiction and poetry writing winners received copies of Love and Other Monsters, the newest novel by Milton graduate and author Emily Franklin ’90 P ’17 ’22 ’25. Journalism winners received Chiasson’s biography of Senator Bernie Sanders, Bernie for Burlington. Chiasson, the Lorraine C. Wang Professor of English at Wellesley College, has authored five books of poetry and a book of criticism. He is the poetry critic at The New Yorker and a regular contributor to the New York Review of Books.

The Persky Awards were established to honor the memory of Laurence Persky ’79, a talented student writer who died just before his senior year. Judged by Franklin, as well as several faculty members, the awards recognize the best work in Milton’s many student publications.