The Alias Magazine is a literary magazine run by The Writer’s Den, Arcadia High School’s (AHS) creative writing club. Its eighth issue, Kaleidoscope, was published in 2024, featuring a collection of Art Honors murals, as well as poems and short prose about the colors and patterns found in everyday life. 

Jan. 22, 2026, the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) awarded Kaleidoscope with an “Excellent” rank in the 2025 Recognizing Excellence in Art and Literary Magazines (REALM) contest. REALM accepts submissions from middle schools, high schools, and higher education throughout the U.S. The program strives to promote creativity and literary skills in students. Issue 6, Shades of Meaning, had earned the same rank a year prior, making this the second year in a row that The Alias has been recognized by NCTE.

“I am so proud of our officers who worked diligently to put together our school literary magazine,” said AHS English teacher Ms. Nicole Zaidi in a press release. “Congratulations to our officers and to the talented writers and artists who contributed their creativity to this issue.”

Senior Hazel Wong, junior Ellie Kwan, and Class of 2025 alumni Angela Chen, Natalie Huang, Eric Jia, and Annette Lin contributed to the editing and publishing of Kaleidoscope.

“In the fascinating optical instrument that we’ve chosen as our theme this semester, we’ve discovered the significance that it holds,” wrote Wong in the issue’s Editor’s Note. “Each shift, each new pattern that emerges is filled with pieces of the past. It’s still so purely and completely us.”

Currently, the officers of The Writer’s Den are working hard to prepare Issue 10, which will be entered in the 2026 REALM contest.