Boston Magazine Received 20 National City and Regional Magazine Award Nominations

Boston magazine is proud to report that we’ve received 20 nominations for our work in 2021 from the City Regional Magazine Association. The awards honor journalists, designers, and magazines across 33 publications and 35 categories, and Boston received nominations in categories stretching from general excellence to writer of the year to food criticism. The awards will be handed out in May at the CRMA’s annual conference in St. Louis, but until then, you can enjoy some of our award-nominated work to see what caught the eyes of the judges.

Check out three pieces from Dart Adams, all of which are up for the Herb Lipson Award for Column Excellence: “Boston’s Hollywood Problem,” “A Voice Unheard,” and “A Dream Deferred.” Or pick your next dining out experience thanks to nominated reviews from food critic Jolyon Helterman for Contessa, Mahaniyom, and Atlántico. Writer Mike Damiano was honored multiple times, with nominations for reporting (“Driving with Cough Drops While Black“), best profile (“Brenda Cassellius Dreams Big“), civic journalism (“Help,” about the childcare crisis in Mass.) and feature story (“Nowhere to Hide“). Contributor Tom McGrath was also nominated in the profile category, for “The Adult in the Room,” about Katherine Clark, and as writer of the year.

Our August issue received a nomination for excellence in writing overall (you can catch up on the whole issue here), and our design team received nods for the illustration and graphics work for their work on stories in the June and December issues. The December issue also earned an overall nod for best design. In the category of reader service, the magazine was honored for Chris Sweeney’s “Just When You Thought It Was Safe to Go Back Outside,” as well as “The Great Suburban Healthcare Hunt,” by Brittany Jasnoff and Catherine Elton.

In the leisure and lifestyle interests category, the magazine was nominated for our cover story about Vermont travel, “Falling for Vermont.” Our April issue also received a nomination for the “special issue” category, for “What Happens Next,” about the next stage of the pandemic. And our spring Boston Home issue received a nomination for best Ancillary: Home/Shelter.

Our digital efforts also earned their share of the spotlight: Senior staff writer Spencer Buell was honored for his online columns in our City Life vertical, and our weekly Boston Sunday newsletter was honored in the e-newsletter category (sign up for that one here, by the way).

But we’re most proud of the team effort that earned us a nod for general excellence from the org. Putting together our publications—the monthly flagship magazine, its Boston Home and Boston Weddings siblings, and our daily online content—is a massive undertaking for our small but determined editorial staff, interns, and freelancers. We couldn’t make any of it without the excellent work of each of them, as well as every other department, from sales to marketing to audience development, that helps bring our stories to you, the readers.

We’d also like to offer a hearty congratulations to our fellow nominees (see the full list here), including those at our sister publication, Philadelphia magazine. We’re in very good company.