Published March 31, 2008 07:51PM
When you get to write about and work in the outdoors, the job often feels like its own reward. But now and then, it just feels good to get a pat on the back: BACKPACKER has received a nomination for a National Magazine Award in the General Excellence category. (For those of you out there not in the publishing industry, it’s kind of like getting nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. As you’d imagine, we’re pretty stoked.)
The award recognizes overall excellence, and honors a magazine for the effectiveness with which writing, reporting, editing, and design all come together to command readers’ attention and fulfill the magazine’s unique editorial mission. BACKPACKER is a finalist among magazines with circulations between 250,000 and 500,000. The winner will be announced May 1; to see a complete list of this year’s nominees, go to the American Society of Magazine Editors website here.
BACKPACKER has been a National Magazine Awards finalist and winner in the past. In 2007, BACKPACKER’s “Survival issue” (October 2006) was a finalist for Single-Topic Issue, which honors the ambition, comprehensiveness, and imagination with which a magazine treats a topic. In 2006, BACKPACKER was nominated for two awards: General Excellence and Magazine Section. The latter recognizes the excellence of a regular, cohesive section in the magazine, and BACKPACKER’s Basecamp section was the overall winner in that category in 2006.
A big thank-you goes out to all the staff, contributors, and friends who grease the wheels and keep BACKPACKER running, and of course an extra-big thank-you belongs to the readers who hold us to such high standards.
Whether we end up this year’s “No Country For Old Men” or come up empty-handed, the old adage still rings true: It’s an honor just to be nominated. — Dennis Lewon and Ted Alvarez