Magazine Grands Prix to Merge with the National Magazine Awards

TORONTO, ON - The National Media Awards Foundation (NMAF) and Magazines Canada are proud to announce a commitment to an ongoing collaboration to recognize and celebrate Canadian creators, editorial teams and the titles that publish their work with the integration of 10 Magazine Grands Prix categories into the National Magazine Awards.

Starting December 1, the National Magazine Awards will be a unified program of 29 categories crafted to recognize excellence in journalism, writing, visual art, design and publishing. The program will 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 us 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 NMAF.

The collaboration confirms that a third of the NMAF Board will 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. The complete list of NMAF Directors is available here.

"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.

Since their inception in the 1970s, Magazines Canada and the National Media Awards Foundation have been committed to inclusivity, diversity and transparency and are proud to serve and support the work of Canadian creators and publishers.

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 this new relationship and share more information about the awards program.

CATEGORY LINE-UP FOR THE 41ST NATIONAL MAGAZINE AWARDS

Writing & Visual Awards, recognizing excellence by Canadian creators in print or digital magazines, include a cash prize of $1,000 to the Gold Medal winner.

1. Long-Form Feature Writing
2. Feature Writing
3. Short Feature Writing
4. Columns
5. Essays
6. Fiction
7. Investigative Reporting
8. Personal Journalism
9. Poetry
10. Professional Article
11. Profiles
12. Service Journalism
13. Best New Magazine Writer
14. Illustration
15. Portraits Photography
16. Lifestyle Photography
17. Photo Essay & Photojournalism
18. One of a Kind Storytelling

Editorial Awards recognizing excellence by a team of magazine creators, editors and art directors in print or digital magazines.

19. Best Art Direction of a Single Article
20. Best Editorial Package
21. Art Direction Grand Prix
22. Editor Grand Prix
23. Cover Grand Prix

The Grands Prix: Best Magazine awards recognizing outstanding achievement in magazine publishing.

24. General Interest
25. Service
26. Lifestyle
27. Fashion & Beauty
28. Art & Literary
29. Special Interest

Two special awards will also be presented at the 41st NMA Awards Gala. These awards are the highest honours bestowed to a magazine and an individual.

The Magazine Grand Prix title will go to the Best Magazine winner which demonstrates overall excellence in bringing its publishing team together to create an outstanding product; and the Foundation Award for Outstanding Achievement, which recognizes an individual's innovation and creativity through contributions to the magazine industry.

Visit magazine-awards.com for more information about the 41st National Magazine Awards. The call for entries opens December 4, 2017 and closes January 22, 2018. The NMAF is currently accepting nominations for individuals to serve on the jury for this year's awards program. Read the Call for Judges or contact the NMAF for details.

About Magazines Canada
Magazines Canada is the national trade association representing Canadian-owned, Canadian-content consumer, cultural, specialty, professional and business media magazines. French and English member titles offer a wide range of topics including business, professional, news, politics, sports, arts and culture, leisure, lifestyle, women and youth, made available on multiple platforms. The association focuses on government affairs, services to the advertising trade, circulation marketing and the development of career skills and the recognition of excellence among the people who work in Canada's magazine media. Visit magazinescanada.ca.

About the National Media Awards Foundation
A charitable foundation, the NMAF's mandate is to recognize, support and promote excellence in content creation of Canadian print and digital publications through an annual program of awards and national publicity efforts. The Foundation produces two distinct and bilingual award programs: the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards.