The United Church Observer
made a splash at the National Magazine Awards!

The United Church Observer joined the likes of The Walrus, Maclean's and Maisonneuve as a multiple medal winner in the 37th National Magazine Awards competition for editorial excellence. The Observer took home a gold medal, a silver medal and two honourable mentions from the National Magazine Awards gala in Toronto on Friday, June 6, in Toronto.
 
         Toronto writer Alanna Mitchell won a gold for her two-part feature "Losing the Hooded Grebe," which appeared in the May and June 2013 issues of the magazine. Online editor Kevin Spurgaitis, videographer Jill Kitchener and writer Chelsea Temple Jones won a silver medal for the online short documentary "Cold Comfort," chronicling a night in the life of the Out of The Cold program at First United in Waterloo, Ont.
 
         Honourable mentions went to Alanna Mitchell for her short feature "Malignant Metaphor," which appeared in the October 2013 issue of the magazine, and writers Marc Colbourne, Ken Gallinger and Gary Stephen Ross for "1988," a package of stories commemorating the 25th anniversary of the United Church's decision to open its ordered ministry of people of all sexual orientations.
 
         The citations from the National Magazine Awards are among a total of 44 awards for editorial excellence won by The Observer this spring. Earlier, the magazine won 25 awards from the North America-wide Associated Church Press, including 10 firsts and the award for best denominational magazine. The Observer also won best magazine in the Canadian Church Press competition, as well as firsts in seven other categories.
 
         "These awards show that a church magazine can measure up to the best magazines anywhere," said Editor/Publisher David Wilson. "Congratulations are due to all the winners, and to The Observer staff who work behind the scenes to edit, produce and distribute a quality magazine month in and month out. Moreover, the recognition from the National Magazine Awards shows that the values of faith, justice and ethical living that underpin everything we publish, have a rightful place in the Canadian conversation."