Magazine awards programs are merged

The National Media Awards Foundation and Magazines Canada have announced the merger of their respective awards programs into one.  

Starting December 1st, the National Magazine Awards will be a unified program of 29 categories to honour the outstanding achievements of our industry’s best creators and publishers, and reflect the exciting future of Canadian storytelling—the stories and perspectives that make it unique. Open to all Canadian creators and publications in both official languages, the National Magazine Awards recognize our country’s diverse communities of readers. 

“We are delighted to enter into this new chapter with Magazines Canada to amplify our shared purpose of championing the breadth of excellence and creativity in magazines through one awards program,” said Nino Di Cara, President of the National Media Awards Foundation.  

Last year, for the first time, the Magazine Grands Prix awards were launched by Magazines Canada in effective competition with the NMAs. Now, after extensive discussions,  the merger will blend the two, with the NMAs being given for writing and visual categories (as they have been for 40 years) and Grands Prix awards being given for best magazines in six categories.Plus two special awards will be made during the 41st annual awards: The Magazine Grand Prix for best magazine; and the Foundation Award for Outstanding Achievement,which recognizes an individual for innovation and creativity.

A third of the NMAF Board will now include magazine community members, who will be appointed in consultation with Magazines Canada. Jessica Johnson, executive editor and creative director from The Walrus, and Dominique Ritter, editor-in-chief from Reader’s Digest Canada were the first such appointees. 

The NMAF has also appointed two new executive members for 2018: Canada’s History Publisher Melony Ward has been elected vice-president for the National Magazine Awards program, and CBC News’ chief of staff Kenny Yum vice-president for the Digital Publishing Awards program, which had for several years been operated by the NMAF.

The complete list of NMAF Directors.  Below are the categories for the awards.

“We are thrilled to be collaborating with the National Media Awards Foundation; these unified awards will allow us to truly come together to celebrate the diversity and accomplishments of Canada’s magazine community,” said Matthew Holmes, President and CEO of Magazines Canada. 

Members of the magazine media community are invited to attend ‘Showcasing Success’, an industry networking event on November 2 in Toronto. Representatives from both Magazines Canada and the NMAF will be in attendance to celebrate the new relationship and share more information about the awards program.
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Penny Caldwell of Cottage Life Media to receive Foundation Award for Outstanding Achievement

I am very pleased to see that the board of the National Magazine Awards Foundation will be presenting its prestigious Foundation Award for Outstanding Achievement* this year to Penny Caldwell, publisher and vice-president of Cottage Life Media. The award will be made at the 40th anniversary awards gala at the Arcadian Court in Toronto; tickets go on sale tomorrow. 

"The hallmarks of Penny's style," says Cottage Life president Al Zikovitz "are conscientiousness, diplomacy, and kindness. There are never any questions she won't take the time to answer. No matter how tight the deadline, there is always time to adhere to the tight standards she sets for herself and inspires in her colleagues."

Penny has been involved with the magazine, at first as a freelance writer, since it was founded in 1988 and was named editor-in-chief in 2000. She has been named editor of the year by the Canadian Society of Magazine Editors a record four times. 

[*Disclosure: I was one of a number of colleagues who wrote letters of support for Penny's award.]

Entries for contending awards programs coming down to the wire

We will know soon enough which way the creative contributors and magazine publishers have chosen to celebrate their work in this spring's awards season. The final deadlines for entries are in the next couple of weeks: Jan 20 (this Friday) for the 40th anniversary  National Magazine Awards* and Jan 30 (in just under two weeks) their competitor, the brand-new Magazine Grands Prix . 

Although there has been no indication by either organization to announce the total number of entries, a lot of small- and medium-sized publishers -- particularly independents and literary cultural titles -- to whom I've spoken felt it was an either-or proposition; to stick with entering the established awards or jump to entering the new ones, (though some may choose to enter both.) 

There has been a good deal of puzzlement and discussion about financial and creative choices being required. Either way, one indicator of the industry's views would be a comparison of total entries, a matter of participants voting with their entry fees, so to speak.

*(The NMA Magazine of the Year submissions are Jan 27; The NMA's Digital Publishing Awards deadline is Jan 31 .)

Related posts:

• Magawards unveils 40th anniversary logo
• Roster of international judges names to augment Magawards judging
• Can the Canadian magazine industry resolve the developing struggle over awards?
• Canadian Magazine Awards unveiled by Magazines Canada

Independent freelancers may submit to Magawards with reduced fees

The National Magazine Awards Foundation has announced its new Freelancer Support Fund. This allows writers and visual contributors to submit their own work to the magazine awards with the first 2 entries costing $50 each (the regular entry fee is $95). As before, as a registered charity all submissions to the Magawards are tax deductible. Submissions open December 1.

This warms up the rivalry with the inaugural Magazine Grands Prix, being piloted by Magazines Canada for 2017; fees for small magazines is $50 per submission (regular $100). Submissions open December 12.  No provision is apparently made to subsidize independent freelancers. 

Many freelancers rely on the magazines which publish them to pay their entry fees but some find it onerous to enter on their own, particularly in multiple categories.                                                                              

Roster of international judges named to augment Magawards judging

In a first for the National Magazine Awards, it has announced a roster of name international judges who will join the usual volunteer Canadian judging panel(s). This was one of the major changes that were recently announced for the awards. Among the international judges:

• Jane Franciso, the editor-in-chief of Good Housekeeping and previously editor-in-chief of Chatelaine, Style at Home and Glow magazines.
• Adam Sternbergh, a contributing editor to New York magazine and former culture editor of the New York Times magazine.
• Kevin Delaney, editor-in-chief of Quartz, a digital arm of Atlantic Media and previously editor of WSJ.com.
• Emily Nussbaum, the television critic for The New Yorker and 2016 winner of the Pulitzer Prize for criticism. Previously edited the culture pages at New York magazine.
• David Michon, an editorial and creative consultant and print and radio journalist based in London, UK. Previously an editor at Monocle. 
• Gillian Dobias, who launched Monocle Films for Monocle magazine and directed video and radio productions for the CBC and BBC.
• Laurie Kratochvil, a photo dealer and appraiser who began her career as photography editor at the Los Angeles Times and  spent 12 years as photo editor at Rolling Stone magazine.
• Jeremy Keehn, features editor at Bloomberg Business Week. Previously editor of NewYorker.com, digital director of Harper's and a senior editor at The Walrus     
• Todd Falkowsky, publisher of The Canadian Design Resource and founder and creative director of Citizen Brand and Mother Brant; also a professor of architecture at the Politecnico in Milan, Italy.
• Antonio de Luca, at one time creative director of The Walrus, now lead product designer & Upshot art director at the New York Times.
• Jessica Rose, art director of Wallpaper and previously art director at The Sunday Times and at Toronto Life.  

"This initiative aims to put Canadian-made work directly into the eyes of some of our industry’s top experts, helping to give recognition to Canadian creators that extends beyond our borders," said a posting on the National Magazine Awards Foundation blog.                                              

National Magazine Awards announces important changes to board and procedures

The National Magazine Awards Foundation has announced some important changes to its board and its process in preparation for its 40th anniversary year and for its recently inaugurated Digital Publishing awards. (The announcement comes in the same week when Magazines Canada is unveiling its own, contending, awards program.)

As reported here earlier, the NMAF initiatives include changes to judging procedures and an expansion of the board membership to include individuals drawn from the business community and sponsors. Among the changes agreed by the board the following were announced:

• Refining the categories of the National Magazine Awards to a more focused number of awards;
• A reformatted awards event to facilitate more conversation and networking;
• Introducing a more rigorous definition and criteria of the Magazine of the Year award;
• Expanding the Digital Publishing Awards;
• A more streamlined judging process for assessing English and French submissions in the same category;
• In a first for any Canadian publishing awards, raising the profile of Canadian creators on the international stage, by:
• recognizing the excellence of Canadian contributors to international media, and
• introducing judges from the international magazine community;
• Enhancing the national footprint of the awards through more regional events and closer collaboration with regional institutions outside of Ontario;
• Being more inclusive of the diversity in Canadian magazine and digital publishing.

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Entries now being accepted for first Digital Publishing Awards

The first Digital Publishing Awards from the National Magazine Awards Foundation are now accepting entries. Submission for the national, bilingual program, recognizing excellence in Canadian digital content are due by February 16. Finalists will be announced on May 4 and the winners announced June 9 in Toronto. According to the NMA release 

Digital publishers with established brands in magazine, newspaper, broadcast and other journalism, as well as publishers that serve their audiences exclusively on digital platforms will be eligible to enter, including those that publish in either English or French. 

For the inaugural year, creators and publishers will have the opportunity to have their work recognized at the national level in fourteen awards categories, including:

• Best Digital Editorial Package
• Best Blog or Online-Only Column
• Best News Coverage of a Single Topic or Event
• Best Online-Only Short Feature
• Best Online-Only Long Feature
• Best Online Video