The Digital Publishing Awards (DPAs) are pleased to announce the 2018 nominees for their 3rd annual awards program, recognizing excellence in the content and creation of Canadian digital publications.
Nominations Website
Nominations List (PDF)
Gala Info & Tickets
Version française
This year, 79 Canadian digital publications entered the DPAs, submitting entries for consideration in 23 awards categories. The top overall prize—General Excellence in Digital Publishing—will presented in three divisions, for small, medium and large publications.
“We are extremely proud to present the third annual Digital Publishing Awards. The work of the creators and publishers nominated this year speaks to the astounding quality of digital journalism produced here in Canada. To celebrate these innovative, hard working individuals on a national stage and beyond is a true privilege,” said NMAF President Nino Di Cara.
Our dedicated roster of 78 judges volunteered their time, expertise, and passion for digital publishing in serving on this year’s jury. They have nominated 106 entries from 37 different digital publications for this year’s awards.
FIRST-TIME NOMINEES
Numerous publications received a first nomination this year, including Flare, Fjord Review, HuffPost Québec, ICI Radio-Canada Première, Le Devoir, Motherboard, Passport 2017, Spacing, The Deep, The Kit, The Sprawl, VICE Québec and Winnipeg Free Press.
EMERGING EXCELLENCE AWARD
The three standout nominees for the coveted Emerging Excellence Award, which honours an individual whose early work in Canadian digital publishing shows the highest degree of craft and promise, are: Elizabeth Melito of CBC News, Graeme Bruce of the Winnipeg Free Press, and Ishani Nath of the Entertainment pillar (FLARE and Hello! Canada).
LEADERSHIP AWARD
The NMAF is pleased to present the 2018 Digital Publishing Leadership Award to Brodie Fenlon, Senior Director of Daily News and Bureaus for the CBC. A respected mentor and leader, Brodie’s pursuit for digital innovation is matched with a desire to build camaraderie in the newsroom. Described by his peers as a “transformative leader” and an “incredibly positive and galvanizing force”, Brodie is lauded for his remarkable achievements and generous personality. Click here to read Brodie’s full biography.
TOP NOMINEES
The top nominees this year are: The Globe and Mail, CBC, Hakai Magazine, Today’s Parent, Chatelaine, Hazlitt, TVO.org, VICE Québec, and Winnipeg Free Press.
Earning two nominations each are Air Canada enRoute, Canadian Art, Global News (globalnews.ca), L’actualité, Le Devoir, National Observer, Passport 2017, Sportsnet, The Deep, Toronto Life, and URBANIA.
INDIVIDUAL NOMINATION HIGHLIGHTS
For the third year in a row, Air Canada enRoute’s “Best New Restaurants” guide is nominated for Best Digital Editorial Package. The magazine’s popular guide is also finalist for Best Online Video: Short.
“Unfounded” by reporters Robyn Doolittle, Laura Blenkinsop, Jeremy Agius, and Michael Pereira, published in The Globe and Mail is nominated twice, in Best Digital Editorial Package and Best News Coverage.
CBC News’ “Dancing Towards the Light” is nominated in two categories: Best Arts & Culture Story and Best Online Video: Mini-Doc.
Nominees – General Excellence in Digital Publishing: Small Publication
fjordreview.com, Fjord Review
nationalobserver.com, National Observer
thedeepmag.ca, The Deep
Nominees – General Excellence in Digital Publishing: Medium Publication
hakaimagazine.com, Hakai Magazine
passport2017.ca, Passport
todaysparent.com, Today’s Parent
Nominees – General Excellence in Digital Publishing: Large Publication
theglobeandmail.com, The Globe and Mail
ledevoir.com, Le Devoir
winnipegfreepress.com, Winnipeg Free Press
Nominees – Best Digital Editorial Package
Canada’s Best New Restaurants 2017, Air Canada enRoute
Born on Opioids, Today’s Parent
Fiction: The Story of Canada. The Globe and Mail
Monnaie d’échange 1 à 4, Le Devoir
This Is 40ish. Chatelaine
Unfounded, The Globe and Mail
Nominees – Best Blog or Online-Only Column
Ici et ailleurs: Chronique d’Alain Noël, Options politiques
John Lorinc’s weekly column, Spacing
John Michael McGrath, TVO.org
Lauren McKeon, TVO.org
Rachel Giese, Chatelaine
31 Thoughts, Sportsnet
Nominees – Best News Coverage: Small Newsroom
Kinder Morgan’s Pipeline in Canada, National Observer
Racism and Reconciliation in Ontario’s Northwest, TVO.org
The Sprawl: 2017 Election Edition, The Sprawl
Nominees – Best News Coverage
Assisted Dying, Winnipeg Free Press
Fire Watch: B.C. Wildfire Coverage, Global News (globalnews.ca)
The Border Crossers, Winnipeg Free Press
Unfounded, The Globe and Mail
Nominees – Best Feature Article: Short
Aleppo Mayor, The Globe and Mail
Je ne sais pas quand je vais vivre, urbania.ca
This Is How Your Hyperpartisan Political News Gets made, BuzzFeed Canada
Nominees – Best Feature Article: Long
A Prison Pregnancy, The Deep
Anatomy of a Surrogacy, Hazlitt
Death of a Modern Wolf, Hakai
Eight Seconds: The Life and Death of a Cowboy, The Globe and Mail
Please Take Us Back to Iraq’: A Yazidi Family’s Traumatic First Days in Canada, Chatelaine
Sea Change, The Globe and Mail
The Making of Joseph Boyden, The Globe and Mail
The Renfrew County Murders Are Not an Anomaly, Chatelaine
Nominees – Fiction
Half-Pipe, Hazlitt
Oursonette, The Globe and Mail
The Clap, The Globe and Mail
Young Tomorrow, The Globe and Mail
Nominees – Best Personal Essay
A Place of Absorption, Hazlitt
Black on Bay Street, The Globe and Mail
Kids of Addiction, Discourse Media
‘Mummy, am I white?’ What I’ve Learned From Raising Biracial Children, Chatelaine What To Do About Kevin: Demons, Little Fires, and the Man Who Lived in my Ravine, TVO.org
Nominees – Best Arts & Culture Story
A Road Trip with Christopher Pratt, Canadian Art
Dancing Towards the Light, CBC News
Kent Monkman: The Modern Touch of an Old Master, The Globe and Mail
My Mother Gave Me My IMFA, Canadian Art
The Making of Joseph Boyden, The Globe and Mail
TIFF’s Next Act, The Globe and Mail
Truth in Jest?, Hazlitt
Nominees – Best Science and Technology Story
From Vilified to Vindicated: the Story of Jacques Cinq-Mars, Hakai Magazine
How Coders Hacked Back to ‘Rescue’ $208 Million in Ethereum, Motherboard
The Hunger Games: Two Killer Whales, Same Sea, Different Diets, Hakai Magazine
Understanding the Quantum Computing Revolution, The Globe and Mail
Watts in the Water, Hakai Magazine
Nominees – Best Service Feature: Lifestyle
Ça veut dire quoi être genderqueer?, VICE Québec
Le Montréal oublié, HuffPost Québec
Where to Eat Now, Toronto Life
Nominees – Best Service Feature: Family & Health
Fortunate Son, The Globe and Mail
How Do I Talk to My Five-Year-Old About White Supremacy?, The Walrus
SIDS Deaths Are Now Considered “Undetermined”: What Parents Need to Know, Today’s Parent
Nominees – Best Online Video: Short
Canada’s Best New Restaurants 2017 – Battuto, Air Canada enRoute
Drag Queen Story Time, Today’s Parent
How close are we to the end of the world? Check the Doomsday Clock, The Globe and Mail
How clothing helped andro babe Megan come out, Daily Xtra
In the studio with Kent Monkman, Canadian Art
Meat Cottage, Chatelaine
The Kit Voices: Generation Z, The Kit
Nominees – Best Online Video: Feature
A Wall Worth Building: Making Clam Habitat Great Again, Hakai Magazine
Au championnat d’arts martiaux mixtes avec une combattante sans merci, VICE Québec
Avec le shaman qui traite ses patients à la MDMA, VICE Québec
Cette drag-queen de 8 ans fait fureur à Montréal, VICE Québec
Daniel Mazzone: The Blue Jays Artist, Sportsnet
Here Be Tiny Dragons (and Other Micro Beasts), Hakai Magazine
The Ultimate Gift: How Two Dads Finally Got Their Son, Today’s Parent
Nominees – Best Online Video: Mini-Doc
Age of Consent, VICE
Born on Opioids, Today’s Parent
Dancing Towards the Light, CBC News
Nominees – Best Podcast & Audio Storytelling
Disparue(s), ICI Radio-Canada Première
GROSSES TÊTES, URBANIA
Love Me – The Other Side, CBC Original Podcasts
Someone Knows Something – Dee & Moore, CBC Original Podcasts
The Secret Life of Canada, Passport 2017
Nominees – Best Digital Design
Census 2016, CBC News
The Globe and Mail, The Globe and Mail
Un Canada sans immigrant, L’actualité
Nominees – Best Photo Storytelling
Asylum seekers, The Globe and Mail
Canada Through The Lens of Syrian Refugees, The Globe and Mail
Des colis pour le Venezuela, L’actualité
From Janet With Love, National Film Board of Canada
Single Mothers of Afghanistan, The Globe and Mail
Nominees – Best Social Storytelling
Canada’s #ToxicSecret, Global News (globalnews.ca)
Coming to Canada: The Immigration and Refugee System, CBC News
#WhyICameOut for Pride Toronto, FLARE.com
Nominees – Best Digital Initiative
A City Destroyed: Experience the Halifax Explosion, CBC News
SJM Variants, Toronto Life
Weigh Anchor, The Globe and Mail
Congratulations to the 2018 nominees! Visit live.digitalpublishingawards.ca to view the individuals nominated this year and their outstanding work. If you would like to make any credit changes, please send details to info@digitalpublishingawards.ca before May 3, 2018.
DIGITAL PUBLISHING AWARDS SOIRÉE
Gold, Silver, and Honourable Mention awards will be presented at the Digital Publishing Awards soirée on Tuesday, May 29th, 2018 at One King West in Toronto. Gold winners in most categories include a $500 cash prize. Tickets are on sale at digitalpublishingawards.ca. Follow the Digital Publishing Awards on Twitter @DPAwards and #DPA18.
The Digital Publishing Awards Soirée will be hosted by Adrian Lee. Adrian is the opinions editor for Maclean’s, a Polaris Prize jury member, a Digital Publishing Award winner, and karaoke champion, in order of least to most important facts about him. He is thrilled for the opportunity to attend a gala that allows him to wear a tuxedo, which he purchased in what he describes as “a good idea at the time.”
Digital Publishing Awards Soirée
Tuesday, May 29th, 2018
Doors open at 6pm, show starts at 7pm.
One King West Hotel
1 King Street West, Toronto, ON
Tickets on sale at digitalpublishingawards.ca.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The National Media Awards Foundation gratefully acknowledges the support of the Department of Canadian Heritage’s Canadian Periodical Fund, the Ontario Arts Council and the Ontario Media Development Corporation.
The NMAF thanks its partners and generous sponsors : Cision, DDI Canada, Reader’s Digest Foundation and Very Good Studios.
The National Media Awards Foundation offers its sincere thanks to the highly skilled professionals who generously contributed their time and expertise as judges of this year’s Digital Publishing Awards competition.
SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
For sponsorship inquiries, please contact Barbara Gould, Managing Director, at info@digitalpublishingawards.ca.
For further information about the Digital Publishing Awards, please contact Leah Edwards, Digital Communications Coordinator, at info@digitalpublishingawards.ca.