Come back for the digital edition after our official release!

Scribendi Volume 40 was designed as a celebration and tribute to our forty years here at The University of New Mexico. This year’s edition emphasizes our roots as UNM Honors Review, Southwestern and rugged, while also carrying forward our mantle as the Western Regional Honor Council’s premiere literary arts magazine. 

Every page exudes age and charm, with its deconstructed tile design inspired by the world we see all around us here at our home base. This edition feels like a walk down Old Town—textured with organic pulp, sandy colors, and an eye-catching blue accent. Our first edition in an A5 size, this volume is intimate—perfect for holding in one hand or carrying in a bag. We hope this copy brings you warmth and a sense of the forty years behind us, and to forty years more.

What you’ll find in this issue:

The 2026 edition features forty-one pieces by thirty-three honors students from fourteen schools nationwide. In Scribendi Volume 40, you will find snapshots of childhood happiness, architecture marred by history, and a heartfelt reflection on familial relationships under a neurodegenerative disease. If you’d like to hold the physical copy in your hands, you can order the print edition here. Please donate $10 to help cover mailing, printing, and general operating costs. You can also download a digital edition by clicking on the cover above.

Table of Contents

Category Contributor Name Title of Piece Page
Visual Art Kendall Troxell A Day in Bethany 1
Isabella Burns The Imperfect Moment 12
Kimia Seifi Pho Dollars 17
Lana Nguyen Steed 34
Halla Hughes Self Portrait 59
Ella Rowland Rooftop Company 97
Caitlyn Bizzell Micro Moments 99
Photography Ruben Mann wisps 4
Truchell Calabaza Unspoken Bond 9
Eanna Moore An Abandoned History 27
Truchell Calabaza The Call to Be Heard 29
Truchell Calabaza Honey & Bubbles 41
Kate Wendzonka The Golden Light Still Shines 60
Kyra Jasmine Like Sisters of Sin 70
Open Media Sarah Rojas Our Final Duet 10
X E Oaks  Of A Heart (that gives all) 19
Reyes Reynaga Day by Day 43
X E Oaks Cat-Shaped Heart 81
Creative Nonfiction Nicole De Lara In Another Universe… 5
Claire Bernard How to Drive Over Ghosts: A Squirrel, a Girl, and Other Metaphors for Why We Can’t Face Death 13
Regan Frioux Admittance is a Desperate Offering 26
Elle Donovan Eye Am 47
Kadra Guillermo Half Watching 56
Short Fiction Ava Chang On the Deregulation of Your AI Slop Heartbreak 30
Victoria Newmiller Swan Maidens and Their Stolen Feather Dresses 61
Cecilia Root Lessons from a Sparrow 74
Poetry Heather M. Stefanec Radiant Theory 2
Avery Ketchmark Six Hours on February 2, 2025 15
Hanna Grass For Her 18
Claire Lyle vows to a novel love 25
Charlotte Mosokwitz life of my ballerina 28
Avery Ketchmark Stray 35
Nahili Biffa Summer Muck 40
Charlotte Mosokwitz a slant-pipe story 42
Hanna Grass A Time 52
Avery Ketchmark A Thousand Paper Cranes 55
Lindi Pomeroy Upon Washing My Car on a Thursday 71
Ana Olivas Orange 73
Cecilia Root I am in love with the weeds in my garden 79
Madison Fara Watermelon Seeds 98
Hanna Grass Learning My Place 100

 

Open Media Links:

Our Final Duet • Sarah Rojas

Drawing on childhood experiences playing video games and making art with their brother, “Our Final Duet” is a love letter to a brother lost, but never forgotten. This mixed media short elegantly combines animation and childhood footage to take the viewer through an emotional multimedia journey of equal parts nostalgia and grief. The video game connection is strengthened through the thematic use of colors to represent the creator and her siblings, calling the viewer to think about their “Player 1” or “Player 2” when they were growing up. Though it can feel like the world cruises on despite loss, “Our Final Duet” is a reminder that while grief may stay with us forever, so will the warm memories that we shared with our loved ones.