Magazines like ours belong to an organization called the City and Regional Magazine Association (CRMA). Every year with help from the Missouri School of Journalism, CRMA hands out some awards for the best work across the country. This year, we and our buddies over at D CEO are finalists in eight categories, which I think is a record for us. The breakdown:
In the Arts & Culture Writing category, Peter Simek is a finalist for three pieces he wrote: the return of Big Tex, Trinity Groves comes to West Dallas, and this exhibit at the Kimbell. Peter goes up against Steve Erickson from Los Angeles Magazine.
In the Column category, Zac Crain is a finalist for three back-page stories he wrote. We don’t have one of them online, but here are the other two: “Interview With a Mosquito” and “How the Pig-Blood-in-the-Trinity People Can Beat the Rap.” His enemies are Deborah Paul from Indianapolis Monthly, Anne Taylor Fleming from Los Angeles Magazine, Richard Rys from Philadelphia Magazine, and Vicki Glembocki from Philadelphia Magazine. Interesting to note: we entered this category on a bit of a whim. Zac’s three submissions are all jokey satirical pieces of fewer than 800 words. They are really funny. But they aren’t anything like the stuff from the other finalists. If he wins, he’ll need to go into hiding.
Zac is also a finalist in the Feature Story category, for the story he wrote about West, Texas. The bad guys here are Justin Heckert from Indianapolis Monthly, Michelle McNamara from Los Angeles Magazine, Jason Fagone from Philadelphia Magazine, and Bryan Mealer from Texas Monthly.
In the Excellence in Design category, we’re looking at 5280 (Denver), Boston Magazine, Cincinnati Magazine, and Los Angeles Magazine.
In the Special Issue category, we’re a finalist for the JFK package we did in November. Cincinnati, Texas Monthly, Washingtonian, and Los Angeles hope we lose.
In the Ancillary General Interest category, D CEO, with its Corporate Counsel Awards issue, finds itself up against work from 5280, Washingtonian, and Philadelphia Magazine.
In the E-Newsletter category, SideDish goes up against newsletters from Chicago Magazine, Los Angeles Magazine, Rhode Island Monthly, and 417 Magazine.
And, finally, in the big daddy category, General Excellence, in our circulation category (the middle tier), we are up against Cincinnati Magazine, HOUR Detroit, Indianapolis Monthly, Seattle Met.
The awards gig goes down in mid-May, in Washington, D.C. There has been talk of a road trip involving four or five staffers. I’m sure nothing could possibly go wrong.
