Top 12 Alberta Magazine Blogposts: AMPA’s 2011 Year at a Glance

We're past due for an unscientific and entirely-biased selection of Alberta Magazines blogposts from the past year. More specifically, excerpted highlights from each month’s biggest AMPA news, industry insight, plus “a few of my favourite things” that we did in 2011:

 

January
Tips for those Magazine Tweets
[January 28, 2011, posted by Rebecca Lesser]

AMPA hosted the seminar "Social Media Fundamentals" with guest speaker Liz Hover, digital media manager for Canada's National Screen Institute. I've decided that—after two awe-inspiring hours (no exaggeration, this was a lot of info) of tips on everything from twitter and facebook to website and blogging... 

 

February

Editor of the Year; Who's Gonna Win?
[February 24, posted by Colleen Seto]

Forget the Oscars; the real contest to watch is the Alberta Editor of the Year Award (EYA), presented by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts... Can we say “all over the board” in regards to this year’s field of nominees? The EYA has always been immensely tough to judge largely because the variety of magazines in Alberta is so expansive…

March

Everyone's a Winner, Baby! Well, internally speaking...
[March 24, posted by Colleen Seto]

Okay, so not everyone can win. But that doesn't mean we can't all have a good time. And that's precisely what happened tonight at the Alberta Magazines Conference gala where winners of the Alberta Magazine Awards were announced to a full house amid swanky live jazz tunes and prime rib dinners…

April

An Idiot's Guide to Blogging
[April 20, posted by Colleen Seto]

Yesterday, AMPA hosted a blogging session with Granville editor Hilary Henegar in Calgary, and she’s doing it again today in Edmonton. Here’s a recap of what she had to share. First, set your online editorial mandate to parallel that of your magazine’s…

May

To Post or Not to Post?
[May 30, posted by Rebecca Lesser] 

Say what you want about the role of Canada's postal service in our "e-nabled" age of online billing, banking, emailing and socializing, but there's no time like the present day state of postal union negotiations to contemplate the reasons we'd miss our snail mail…

June

The Future of Digital Publishing (Part One of Two)
[June 27, posted by Rebecca Lesser]

There are no certainties when it comes to predicting the future, especially when it comes to digital publishing. Understandably, some prefer to sit back and see how this all plays out before launching headfirst into the unknown. It can’t hurt, however, to hear the perspective of some of the bigger players... All of this is to say that there was much to be learned at AMPA’s “Publishing in the Digital Age” luncheon with Evan Hansen, editor-in-chief of Wired.com…

July

Sayonara, or until next time...
[July 17, posted by Colleen Seto]

Some of you may be wondering about the posting for the AMPA E.D. position. Yes, it's official. I've resigned and will not be returning to steer the AMPA ship this fall. I thought I'd take a moment on the AMPA blog to share a fond farewell…

August

New Canada Periodical Fund Formula Based on Circulation
[August 31, posted by Colleen Seto]

After what may seem like an eternity for many publishers, Canadian Heritage has released its new formula for support under the Canadian Periodical Fund (CPF) for the Aid to Publishers (ATP) component… While the case remains that few Alberta magazines qualify for any funding at all given our largely controlled circ marketplace...

September

AMPA AGM 2011: Fond Farewells, New Beginnings
[September 23, posted by Andrew Mah]

I’ve been to more than a few AMPA AGM's over the years—back when I was an intern, later as magazine editor, and then as AMPA’s incoming executive director last year… The spirits did flow, but I also attribute the atmosphere to some of my favourite people: magazine people. I’m clearly biased, but those who work for magazines are, with remarkable consistency, friendly, creative, savvy and good hearted…

October

Alberta Best on Page Celebrated the Power of Magazines
[October 27, posted by Rebecca Lesser]

We laughed, we cried, we oohed, we awed. Okay, a bit of an exaggeration, but this past month we truly were inspired by the creativity on display at the Alberta Best on Page travelling exhibition. The show (held in Lethbridge, Calgary and Edmonton) featured Magazines Canada's annual Best on Page display of national and international award-winning print ads…

November

Connecting Local Talent with Local Magazines
[November 21, posted by Rebecca Lesser]

The Alberta Magazine Publishers Association is thrilled to officially launch the AMPA Contributors Directory, an initiative to connect local talent with local publications! Search the Alberta Magazine Publishers Association's comprehensive database of magazine creatives available for freelance and contract work for your publication or media organization...

December

How to Integrate Your Magazine with Social Media
[December 12, posted by Colleen Seto]

Now that Facebook is up to 800 million active users, (confess already, you just logged in and checked your Facebook, didn't you?) it really does make sense for magazines to use it for promotional purposes...

 Happy New Year AMPA Friends and Followers!

--- Rebecca Lesser

AMPA Communications & Programs Coordinator

Alberta Magazine Awards – Call for Entries!

Fame. Fortune. Freakouts! Okay, maybe not freakouts, I was thinking of a different kind of winning (see below). But it is Alberta Magazine Awards time again, folks! Time to salute the great achievements of Alberta magazines over this past year with praise, trophies, recognition, and yes, moola! The Alberta Showcase Award winners each receive $250 cash, not to mention bragging rights. This year, we’ve added a new category—Best Digital Presence—to highlight publishing digital innovations. Both online magazines and magazine companion websites are eligible.

I’ve seen several award-worthy pieces over the past year, and the only way to get the recognition they deserve is to submit an entry. This is your time to shine so don’t hem and haw about whether to enter, just do it!

And don’t forget about the Achievement Awards either. This includes the oh-so-coveted Editor of the Year Award. (We’re pleased to affirm that last year’s winner Käthe Lemon is still living and working in Alberta—stop stealing our talent, rest of Canada!) It’s also time to nominate supastars for the Achievement in Publishing Award. (Who could forget how genuinely surprised and touched Rob Tanner was winning the inaugural award?) This year, it could be your turn to be publicly verklempt!

So get your nominations in by January 31, 2012—earlier would be greatly appreciated. We strongly encourage you not to wait until 4pm on the 31^st to come crashing into the AMPA office—you know who you are! And mark your calendar for March 22 at the Alberta Magazines Conference when the winners will be announced. It’ll be a fabulous night of oohing and ahhing, not to missed!

Be a winner--but maybe not this kind. (As if I could pass up the chance to reference the Sheen-ster!)

For some inspiration, check out the list of last year’s winners.

--- Colleen Seto

AMPA Blogger-in-Residence

Everyone's a Winner, Baby! Well, internally speaking...

Okay, so not everyone can win. But that doesn't mean we can't all have a good time. And that's precisely what happened tonight at the Alberta Magazines Conference gala where winners of the Alberta Magazine Awards were announced to a full house amid swanky live jazz tunes and prime rib dinners. For those of you who weren’t able to attend (and you better have a good excuse like having a five-month-old on your boob!), here’s who came out on top. 

Alberta Venture cleaned up taking the Best Cover, Best Photo, and Best Illustration categories. Way to go Team AV. Best Feature Design went to Wine Access magazine while IMPACT took Best Editorial Short. techlife took the win in the new Best Alberta Story category with a story by Scott Messenger—woot, woot, Scott! He didn’t even have to serve as a conference volunteer to get props this year.

Editorial judge Malwina Gudowska emphasized how the editorial panel looked first and foremost at the writing. “You can tell from the lead what the article will be like in terms of quality. And then of course if it holds my attention, that's a good sign. The idea is important, but I've read articles that I thought had so much potential in terms of a fresh new idea that in the end, just didn't work because of the writing. On the flip side, I've read stories that have been done a number of times but there was something new and interesting about it, maybe a different angle. It all worked because the writing was solid.” So remember folks, quality of writing is the only surefire way to a win at next year’s awards!

For Best New Magazine, 18 Bridges, the brainchild of writer Curtis Gillespie took top honours. Volunteer of the Year went to Dandelion’s Claire Lacey.

No Lucci for Lemon as Avenue Calgary’s Käthe Lemon finally claimed the Editor of the Year title and won one for the ladies. As Melanie Jones, one of the EYA judges, put it: “Käthe's editorial has a way of going beyond the surface level 'story idea' into the deeper DNA-level realms of exploring and trying to articulate something about what it means to live in Calgary now.”  

Fellow EYA judge Tom Gierasimczuk also added, “Käthe displays a rare dedication to her craft both as a storyteller, devoted volunteer, and a leader. The fierce devotion of her team as well as the products she oversees are testament to this.” A giant congrats to Käthe who I know personally to be a great editor and an even better human. You deserve it, chicka!

Tom also noted that “both Birthing magazine and Westword are riveting reads that serve their audiences admirably with limited resources.”

Finally, the Achievement in Publishing award went to one of my favourite people in publishing: Rob Tanner of TannerYoung Publishing (which publishes Where Edmonton and Canadian Cowboy Country). What a tribute to this most-deserving publisher to receive the recognition and acclaim of his peers. 

Rob has many years of magazine publishing experience and has also successfully crossed mediums creating his award-winning Cowboy Country TV show. He’s served in countless volunteer capacities including the ACIA board and of course, the AMPA board (in fact, he won Volunteer of the Year last year). For AMPA, he worked tirelessly for nearly a decade, and luckily for me, was president for part of the time I was E.D. Working closely with Rob proved to me that it’s not just his business savvy that makes him successful, but his willingness to learn and to share his knowledge with his fellow publishers. 

Rob has generously contributed both time and ideas to ensure the sustainability of Alberta’s publishing community not only for personal gain, but because he genuinely cares about fostering an environment where all hardworking independent publishers can survive and thrive. If that’s not an achievement in publishing, I don’t know what is. Yay Rob! I am thrilled for you!

Congrats again to all our winners and finalists. Yet another great year in Alberta magazines. Hurray! And enjoy the rest of the conference too! I can’t wait to hear how the rest of the event goes, especially the “after-party.” Peanuts pub, anyone? :P

--- Colleen Seto
AMPA Blogger-in-Residence

Editor of the Year; Who's Gonna Win?

Photo from susanlucci.com

Forget the Oscars; the real contest to watch is the Alberta Editor of the Year Award (EYA), presented by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.

This year’s nominees are:

Nora Abercrombie (Westword), Anne Beaty (Airdrie Life), Karen Crowdis (Birthing), Käthe Lemon (Avenue Calgary), Ellen Percival (Calgary’s Child), Jenn Schmidt-Rempel (Lethbridge living), Sandra Wiebe (Routes) and Jim Zang (Okotoks Living).

Can we say “all over the board” in regards to this year’s field of nominees? The EYA has always been immensely tough to judge largely because the variety of magazines in Alberta is so expansive. I mean seriously, comparing and critiquing the work of city magazines vs. niche mags vs. editorial about pushing a babe out of your body (yes, I still have labour on the brain) is not exactly easy. The only thing we’re missing in this year’s mix is poetry and fiction (where are you cultural mags?). I don’t envy this year’s judges, Anicka Quin, Melanie Jones and last year’s winner, Tom Gierasimczuk, their task at hand.

I also wonder whether this year’s award will generate as much buzz and consternation as in past years. Is Käthe Lemon destined to become the Susan Lucci of the EYA, in the close but no cigar category, or will she lead the way for the ladies and be the first female to win this year? Or will this year’s winner announce their plans to move out of the province as their acceptance speech since all of our past winners have taken up residence beyond Alberta’s borders? March 24 will surely be a great night at the Alberta Magazines Conference where such riveting questions will be answered, including: what will Ruth Kelly be wearing?

Get your gala tix now and stay tuned for more news and views on the EYA.

--- Colleen Seto
AMPA Blogger-in-Residence

Tom Gierasimczuk of up! magazine named Alberta's Editor of the Year

And the award goes to...!
Congratulations go out to Tom Gierasimczuk who was anointed Editor of the Year at the 2010 Alberta Magazines Conference on March 11, 2010.

Gierasimczuk is the founding Editor of up! magazine, WestJet's in-flight publication, now in its’ 5^th year of production. The magazine is coming off a big year, having earned National and Western Magazine Awards in addition to this honour.

“Being named Alberta Editor of the Year is just further validation that the stories we tell WestJet guests resonate with them, crafted as they are by some of the country's most talented storytellers," says Gierasimczuk.

In addition to launching several community newspapers, Tom also co-founded CityBites, Toronto’s food magazine. As well, Tom helped launch 360, a national corporate action sports and lifestyle magazine, where he was Editor for two years.

About the Editor of the Year Award
The Editor of the Year Award honours someone who has achieved standards of excellence in the creation of an Alberta magazine or magazines. Judges recognized individuals who demonstrates strong qualities of resourcefulness, collaboration and vision.

The panel of judges for the 2010 Editor of the Year award are: Jim Sutherland, former editor of Western Living, Dan Rubinstein, managing editor of Canadian Geographic and 2009 Editor of the Year recipient, and Lisa Manfield, contributing editor of Backbone magazine.

Congratulations to Tom and all of the Editor of the Year nominees!

We look forward to another year of outstanding editorial from Alberta magazine editors.