About The Royal Canadian Geographical Society

Golden accolades

Canadian Geographic won the prestigious Magazine of the Year award (for magazines with a circulation of more than 150,000) at a gala in Toronto in June. The award was presented by the Canadian Society of Magazine Editors at the annual MagNet conference.

The distinction caps a string of awards recently received by the magazine and its website. At the National Magazine Awards, also held in Toronto in June, Canadian Geographic’s website garnered two golds: one for the Canadian Geographic Photo Club in the Best Community Feature category and one for “Return of the ferret” (December 2009) in the Best Cross-Platform Package category. This is the first year that online categories have been included in the National Magazine Awards.

Brian Payton, John E. Marriott and CG staff won a silver in the Words & Pictures category for “The wild life” (December 2009). The magazine also received five honourable mentions: “Territory of unrequited dreams” (Jan/Feb 2009) in the Words & Pictures and the Politics & Public Interest categories; “Wild life” (December 2009) in the Best Single Issue and the Editorial Package categories; and “Return of the ferret” (December 2009) in Science, Technology & the Environment.

The December 2009 issue of Canadian Geographic, which sold the most newsstand copies in the magazine’s history, also won an Award for Circulation Excellence from the Circulation Management Association of Canada in June.

At the 2009 North American Travel Journalists Association Awards presented in May, Canadian Geographic Travel scored a quadruple win. Robin and Arlene Karpan garnered first place for Landscape, Seascape photography for “Sandland” (Spring 2009). Lisa Gregoire also won first place for Budget Travel for her article “Hut spot” (Winter 2008-2009).

Writers Douglas Hunter, Patricia Pearson, Dawn Calleja and Patricia D’Souza received an award of merit for their volunteer-vacation features (Summer 2009) in the Travel Series category for publications with a circulation of less than 250,000. Lastly, the Winter 2008-2009 issue captured an award of merit in the Travel Magazine category, second to National Geographic Traveler.

In another feat of recognition, Kingston-based writer Alec Ross won the Ottawa Tourism Travel Writing Award for “A capital idea” (Fall 2009), recounting his family’s autumn excursion to Ottawa.

— Sara Caverley