Cottage Life cleans up at IRMA awards

Cottage Life magazine was named Magazine of the Year and won 12 other awards at the International Regional Magazine Association (IRMA) conference last week in Lone Wolf, Oklahoma. (That's the magazine's current issue at right.)

It received seven gold and two bronze medals as well as two awards of merit. It was picked as Magazine of the Year (over 40,000 circulation).

IRMA is an association of state and regional travel destination magazines, mostly American (such titles as Adirondak Life, Oklahoma Today, Chesapeake Bay Magazine, Vermont Life). There are four Canadian members: Cottage Life, British Columbia, Prairies North from Saskatchewan and Saltscapes, from Nova Scotia. Jim Gourlay, the co-publisher of Saltscapes, is president of the organization.

British Columbia magazine received six awards, including two bronze awards and four award of merits.

Cottage Life has been published by Quarto Communications since 1988 and has a total paid circulation of 71,000. Publisher is Al Zikovitz, General Manager is Terry Sellwood. Penny Caldwell has been the magazine's editor since 1991 and was named Editor in Chief in 2000. She was named Editor of the Year in 2006 by the Canadian Society of Magazine Editors.