National magawards swept (again) by The Walrus

It's probably unnecessary to list extensively the winners and runners-up from the National Magazine Awards three days after the event; those who won know it; those who didn't do, too; those who are interested probably were there or already went to the National Magazine Awards website to see the full list or read about it in various papers. But there are a few things that are worth mentioning:

• For the first time in memory, the idea that it's an honour just to be nominated (one of the enduring, (probably unbelieved) cliches of competitions everywhere) is actually being taken seriously. The Globe and Mail, for instance, made much of the fact that The Walrus magazine won 51 awards, counting its honourable mentions. Winning 51 awards sound more grand than winning 6 golds, including two for one article. And doubtless The Walrus will make much of the larger number (and the golds) promotionally in the coming year. More power to them. The National Magazine Awards Foundation has always tried to get the press to see things this way, but without success, until this year.
• The magazine cover selected as the best of the past 30 years -- a 'people's choice' online vote in celebration of the anniversary -- was from Canadian Geographic in 1999, its "Through the Lens" photography annual showing a sleeping baby, by Stephen Hanks. Interestingly, at the time, the editor, the circulation director, the publisher and the art director were agreed that this particular image, in black and white, wouldn't work on the newsstand. Indeed it didn't. But the decision was made to go with this cover because it was the right thing to do, the thinking being that if a magazine like CanGeo wasn't going to champion outstanding art on its cover, what was the point. We hope this choice by its peers is compensation for selling a few single copies. We imagine it is.

• Every year, it seems, there is an homage to what might have been, as the magawards reward excellence from a magazine that has expired during the previous year. Many years ago, it was Quest and TO and the various Globe magazines like Domino. More recently, it was Saturday Night. This year, the "dearly departed" was Toro, which won 4 gold awards. And the Calgary-based photography magazine C-ing, which has been on hiatus since last fall, won a gold for photojournalism and photo essay.
  

• The manners of the attendees were not improved by the new seating arrangements at the awards. In the Carlu auditorium, where many people sat at round tables arranged throughout the main floor, the din (particularly channelled out from under the balcony) tended to drown out much of what was emanating from the stage. For some reason, the sound system this year wasn't up to the challenge, and even when the Outstanding Achievement Award was being made to Neville Gilfoy, half the room either wasn't paying attention or was straining to hear what was being said. Greg Keilty's well-considered words in introducing Gilfoy were largely drowned out. Gilfoy himself, of course, seized command of the situation and, with his booming voice not only made himself heard but also delivered a bit of a stemwinder, a statement of the importance of magazines as retailers of ideas and a political shaft aimed at Ottawa's current Harperite bumblers.

• Speaking of new seating arrangments, how were things in the Round Room? There, people paid less and watched the event on TV monitors. They were also closer to a cash bar and the chocolate fountain.

• There were a scarcity of nominations and winners from the west and from Quebec, something that calls into question the "national" part of the awards. (western-based magazines got 2 gold and 5 silver awards; Quebec-based got two of each, plus L'actualite's nomination for magazine of the year). Part of the reason is that French language magazines seem to enter in only some categories. And both Quebec and the west have their own awards programs (the Western Magazine Awards go this Friday coming, June 22). You can't cook the books, mind you, but it shouldn't be concluded that good work only comes from the centre of the country.
  

• In previous years, people groused about the food and the "grazing" format. Nobody was heard to say so this year, as there was plenty of it and lots of opportunities to scarf it down. Daniel & Daniel seem to have got the event down pat.
  

• Outdoor Canada won a gold this year for Gord Pyzer's article on fishing. Naturally, the award had to be accepted by Editor Patrick Walsh because Pyzer had gone fishing.
  

• Accepting the Health and Medicine gold for the absent Chantal Éthier in Châtelaine, Lise Ravary, editorial director of Rogers Media's women's service magazines, took the opportunity to take a shot at the paucity of awards over the years to magazines like Châtelaine which serves a largely female audience.

• Some of you will remember a few years back when Maclean's magazine staff were reluctant attendees at the awards, regarding the whole event as being fixed to make sure they didn't get nominated and didn't win. Well, Ken Whyte's program of putting 10,000 volts through the old magazine is apparently paying off. It was demonstrated by the loud partisanship of the many Maclean's staffers in attendance, cheering on their two golds, one silver and 11 honourable mentions.
  

• A couple of awards went to liddler guys who ought to be acknowledged.
  
• Queen's Quarterly has been awfully good territory for columnist Robert Fulford, who won his 13th gold
• Azure, the design magazine, won gold for magazine cover for its Water issue; design by Concrete Design Communications Inc.
• Chris Chapman won for portrait photography, a hauntingly simple photo of writer Deepa Mehta in Montage
• R. Johnson won a Gold for poetry in Descant
• Lesley Barton won a Silver for Science, Technology and Environment in Peer Review, a magazine that operates somewhat out of the mainstream, serving graduate students. Notably, this young magazine's launch was encouraged a few years back with a $75,000 grant from the Ontario Media Development Corporation.
  

• Congratulation to all those who had a hand in this year's printed program. In some years past, the layout was jumbled and confusing and hard to read. This year, the advertising and program design was done by Hambly & Wooley Inc. (who also created the magawards new, stylish and long-overdue logo and were an award sponsor to boot), the illustration was by Dan Page and Cynthia Brouse and Michel Defoy copy edited it. Lucie Poirier did the translation. And Dollco did the printing and sponsored the spot illustration award.