AMPA Achievement Award 2014
Winners of the Alberta Magazines Showcase Awards were announced and Achievement Awards recipients acknowledged by the province’s magazine industry.
The gala evening, hosted by the Alberta Magazine Publishers Association at the Carriage House Inn on Thursday, March 20, drew magazine professionals from across the province. The event honours and celebrates the works of Alberta’s publishers, their editors, art directors, writers, photographers, illustrators, and freelance staff.
Suzanne Trudel, Executive Director of AMPA, congratulated nominees and award winners and said the diversity and high quality of the entries, adjudicated by panels of magazine industry leaders from across North America, demonstrated the exceptional work being created in Alberta.
"Collectively these individuals bring passion and insight to our unique Alberta culture and ensure that Alberta voices and stories are shared and heard throughout the province and beyond our borders," Trudel said.
Awards were given for excellence in content published in 2013 in 15 Showcase categories. Calgary’s Swerve magazine came away with numerous awards including Gold in Essay, Feature Design, Photograph (Landscape, Still Life and Architecture) and Service; and Silver in the Alberta Story and Service categories. Eighteen Bridges, a national-award winning magazine grounded in the narrative tradition, also had a strong showing, taking Gold in Cover, Feature Writing (Short), Fiction and Poetry; and a Silver award in Fiction.
Alberta Views accepted Gold awards, in the Alberta Story, Illustration and Photograph (People & Portraiture) categories. Also receiving Gold awards were Alberta Venture for Profile, FreeFall for Emerging Writer, UPPERCASE for Art Direction for a Single Issue, and Westworld for Digital Presence.
Five Achievement Award recipients were also recognized. Janine Vangool, publisher and editor at Calgary-based UPPERCASE magazine took home two major awards, winning both Editor of the Year in addition to her magazine being named 2014 Magazine of the Year. The five-year-old international-award-winning UPPERCASE is a whimsical magazine that profiles trends in design and creativity
Tom Tait, owner and publisher of Galleries West, accepted the Achievement in Publishing award for his significant contributions to the industry. Tait has been an innovator in publishing operations for more than 30 years, and is a strong supporter of the province’s magazine publishing industry. Galleries West also received the Silver award for Digital Presence.
Best New Magazine was awarded to Glass Buffalo, a literary magazine launched in 2012 to showcase the creative writing talents of students and alumni at the University of Alberta. Emily Ursuliak received the Volunteer of the Year award for her contributions to filling Station magazine this past year.
The magazine awards saw a record number of entries this year. ”We’re thrilled to showcase an inspired publishing industry and celebrate the individuals who pour their creative energy into these magazines,” says AMPA executive director Suzanne Trudel.
A full list of Showcase Awards winners, including contributors and articles can be found at http://www.albertamagazines.com/awards.
The Alberta Magazine Publishers Association (AMPA) is a non-profit industry association that promotes, supports and advocates on behalf of the Alberta magazine publishing industry.