Book Creator

The Spiral Staircase: March/April 2021

by Shady Side Academy Middle School Literary Magazine

Cover

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March/April 2021
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The Spiral Staircase
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Cover art by Ria Sehgal
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Cover art by Ria Sehgal
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Shady Side Academy Middle School
Literary Magazine
About Us: The 2021 Lit Mag Crew
Evan Fularz is a 7th-grade boy who attends Shady Side Academy Middle School. His favorite class is art class as he loves to explore new boundaries and styles. Evan thinks unique cars are the coolest and daydreams about having a garage the size of the gym filled with them. His favorite genre is historical fiction, while he also enjoys reading graphic novels. His favorite hobbies are archery and mountain biking. Evan wants to be a famous architect and artist. He has one brother and one sister; he is also the oldest child in his family. This year, he wants to bring an artistic view to Lit Mag.
Eva Friedlander is an 11-year-old sixth-grader at Shady Side Academy. She loves reading and writing and has recently grown an interest in old/vintage things. Eva loves traveling and hopes to explore the globe . Her pet peeves are unorganized things, dark purple, and candy corn. Some of her favorite things are cats, tea, and fall. As a Libra, she loves to take lead in group settings while also sprinkling some of her own wit and humor on the way. She inspires to add another perspective to Literary Magazine. 
Neyla Hinedi is a 13-year-old student at Shadyside Academy. She has moved many times, however, now she resides in Pittsburgh, PA. She loves horror and dystopian themes and longs for creating her own stories. She enjoys sports such as soccer and volleyball. Contrary to her warm weathered home, she loves the cold dreary weather of the northeast. Neyla’s favorite subjects are math and science. She is a laid-back, empathetic person who appreciates a good laugh.
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Jonas Hong is an 8th-grade student at Shady Side Academy. He enjoys playing soccer and video games, but a guilty pleasure is discussing politics with the very few willing participants in the world. Favorite books include The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate, Scythe by Neal Shusterman, and Grenade by Alan Gratz. Don't bring up Breaking Bad or Ratatouille unless you want to get into an hour-long conversation about the intricacies of the world. Although he can’t stand maggots, writing about creepy crawly universes with dark twists is his strong suit. This year in Lit Mag, Jonas hopes to polish his writing and get into the more advanced ideas and concepts.
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Audrey Jiang is currently a 13-year-old Form II student who began attending Shady Side Academy Middle School in 6th grade. She enjoys a variety of activities ranging from swimming to writing fantasy stories and reading. While dystopian, fantasy, and science fiction are her preferred genres, The Young Elites trilogy by Marie Lu is her favorite series. Listening to electronic, trap, and sometimes pop songs are her go-to genres of music when writing her fantasy stories. Audrey’s a bit of an adventurer, usually willing to try new and unknown things or whatever catches her interest. During her time with Literary Magazine, she hopes to sharpen and polish her writing skills and become incredibly inspired!
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Faiza Krishnarao is a 12-year-old, soon-to-be 13-year-old, 6th grader at Shady Side Academy. Faiza was born and lived in India until she moved to Pittsburgh at the age of 6. She plays tennis, loves to swim, and generally enjoys all sorts of athletic endeavors. Faiza likes to paint and be creative. She has fun playing video games, cooking, baking, and reading. She is a fan of the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) and loves superheroes. Traveling around the world is something Faiza has always loved since she was a child.
Sonia Kshirsagar is an 8th-grade student at Shady Side Academy who entered in 7th grade. With a love of both Science and English, Sonia is currently planning to become a patent lawyer. She aspires to be an inspiration for others. During her 7th to 8th grade school year, she created a community service committee in her neighborhood. Having always loved to decorate, create, and design, she is constantly working on her next piece of art to hang on the wall in her room. One of the ways she spends her free time is writing stories that have popped into her head randomly. Sonia has always had a passion for music as well. She has played piano for ten years and cello for five years. Surprisingly, she doesn’t like to listen to classical music, but in fact, is willing to listen to nearly any other genre! 
Ria Sehgal is a happy, full-of-life eleven-year-old sixth-grader and a black belt in karate! From a very young age, she has been intrigued and fascinated by visual arts & all things possible with vibrant colors! Her very first artwork to get widespread recognition at the tender age of 9 was a collection of illustrations she presented in a published fiction book authored by her older sister. Currently, as she works on illustrating another soon-to-be-published book, she also keeps busy creating independent artwork of various life forms, figurines, and illustrations in hopes of holding an art exhibition one day! Ria's favorite moments are when she and her sister lie together on the soft grass in their yard, swinging their legs in leisure with their hands resting on their chins, talking about mystical characters that they both imagine, carve-out, and then name for their upcoming jointly-written books. 
Lit Mag portraits by Ria Sehgal and Evan Fularz
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Suhani Sehgal is a 12-year-old young author who lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is a passionate reader & writer with a passion for art! Suhani is a believer! Believer of all things magical! Believer of all things whimsical! Believer of all things vibrantly colorful! Believer of all things that are a little different and weird to many! Believer that the beady dewdrops are smiling under the morning sun against all odds, even when they know it’s time to evaporate! Believer of the good in everyone! Most of all, she loves bringing all this together in her narrations and books as an author. She and her sister work together to bring magical and whimsical characters to life in the books they author together. Suhani believes that we all possess our own unique abilities, and that each of us has a special purpose for our existence on this beautiful, bountiful earth, and hers just happens to be sharing her tales with others! 
Chloe Will transferred to Shadyside because she wanted to broaden her horizons. She has always gotten lost in a book for hours, and she is a fast reader. Her favorite book series is Keeper of the Lost Cities, though Harry Potter is a close second. Her favorite genres are fantasy and adventure. A proud carnivore, she loves eating meat, especially steak, ribs, and chicken. Her favorite color is pastel pink, as hot pink is too bright for her. She loves playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons on her Nintendo switch and Minecraft. She is very scared of bugs such as wasps, ants, mosquitoes, bees, etc. She plays the cello and wants to be a lawyer or writer.
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Mrs. Cannon is the fortunate teacher who gets to spend her afternoons with this most delightful Lit Mag crew! As the Form 1 English teacher at Shady Side, she is passionate about all things literary. You can find her in her classroom gesticulating wildly with a cup of tea in hand. According to Mrs. Cannon, there is nothing better than seeing students’ faces beam with pride as they share and discuss their work. She is happiest when discussing beautiful literature, cozying up with a transportive book, or reading to her own two children. She is especially fond of magical realism, post-war literature, and nature writings. Mrs. Cannon also relishes a well-organized room and the small satisfaction of a good pen. 
Water is like friendship 
It saves you 
In your worst times
It cares for you
When you need it most

It can be harsh
It can demolish your life
It is the tear in your eye 
But it always comes back 
To help you build up again

It makes an impression on you
So slow
You don’t ever notice
 It molds who you are

Kristen Appleman
Drawing by Ben Huang
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