The finalists for the 2017 AAN Awards have been selected. The finalists below were chosen as the most outstanding from a field of 817 entries submitted by 67 alternative publications across the U.S. and Canada.
The AAN Awards recognize the best in alternative journalism and are a unique chance for alt-weeklies to compete directly against the work of their peers in cities across the continent. Judging was conducted by the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland.
The winners will be announced during a reception on July 29 at the AAN Convention in DC.
Finalists below are listed alphabetically by paper. Categories with four or more finalists indicate either a tie or an honorable mention. Categories with less than three finalists indicate that a 3rd place was not awarded.
CASH PRIZE CATEGORIES
FEATURE STORY circulation under 45,000
Winner will receive $250 funded by Isthmus founder Vince O’Hern.
East Bay Express: Art Gallery Grifter by Sarah Burke
Missoula Independent: Shortchanged by Kate Whittle
Missoula Independent: Words within the Walls by Erika Fredrickson
Santa Barbara Independent: The Kidnap Scam by Keith Hamm
FEATURE STORY circulation 45,000 & over
Winner will receive $250 funded by Isthmus founder Vince O’Hern.
Dallas Observer: Body Hackers and Bioengineers Are Trying to Make DFW a Hub of Implantable Electronics by Joe Pappalardo
Houston Press: Kush City: Houston has Become a Major Hub for the Latest Drug of Choice by Leif Reigstad
Houston Press: Sorry for Life?: Ashley Ervin Didn’t Kill Anyone, But She Drove Home the Boys Who Did by Meagan Flynn
Nashville Scene: Anton Kanevsky Jumped to His Death From a 31-Story Downtown Building. Why? by Amanda Haggard
FREE SPEECH
Winner will receive $500 funded by Monterey County Weekly founder & CEO Bradley Zeve.
North Coast Journal: Police Videos (I; II; III; IV; V; VI; VII; VIII; IX; X) by Thadeus Greenson
Sacramento News & Review: Series on K.J.’s Shadow Government (I; II; III; IV; V; VI) by Nick Miller
Seven Days: Seven Days Fights Subpoenas (I; II; III) by Paul Heintz, Terri Hallenbeck
INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING circulation under 45,000
Winner will receive $250 funded by New Times co-founder Michael Lacey.
North Coast Journal: The Case of the Missing $5 Million by Linda Stansberry
Santa Barbara Independent: Joel Alcox is Resurrected (I; II) by Tyler Hayden
Santa Fe Reporter: Puff of Smoke by Jeff Proctor, New Mexico In Depth
The Pitch: Prison Broke (I; II; III) by Karen Dillon
INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING circulation 45,000 & over
Winner will receive $250 funded by New Times co-founder Michael Lacey.
Chicago Reader: No-show cops and dysfunctional courts keep Cook County Jail inmates waiting years for a trial by Spencer Woodman, Robin Amer, Esther Kaplan
Houston Press: As Regulation Lags, Texas Flats Boat Casualties Mount by Dianna Wray
Houston Press: Officials Can’t Remember the Last Time HPD Saw an Unjustified Shooting. Here’s Why. by Michael Barajas, Craig Malisow
The Village Voice: Hell on Wheels: Port Authority’s Broken Promise Is Choking Newark’s Kids (I; II; III) by Max Rivlin-Nadler
LGBT COVERAGE circulation under 45,000
Winner will receive $250 funded by Colorado Springs Independent former CEO Fran Zankowski.
INDY Week: The 30 Years That Brought Us HB 2 by Barry Yeoman
Orlando Weekly: Pulse In Memoriam: Remembering the Orlando 49 (I; II; III; IV; V) by Monivette Cordeiro
Creative Loafing Tampa: Profiles in Pride (I; II; III; IV) by David Warner
YES! Weekly: Out in the South by Steve Mitchell, Deonna Kelli Sayed, Jeff Sykes
LGBT COVERAGE circulation 45,000 & over
Winner will receive $250 funded by Colorado Springs Independent former CEO Fran Zankowski.
Isthmus: Young and homeless: LGBTQ+ youth are at greatest risk by Jenny Peek
Metro Times: The Throwaways by Allie Gross, Iain Maitland
Miami New Times: Decades After Andy Sweet’s Murder, His Iconic South Beach Photos Are Resurrected by Jessica Weiss
Washington City Paper: A Gay Old Time by Andrew Giambrone
RACE REPORTING circulation under 45,000
Winner will receive $250 funded by Charleston City Paper co-owner and AAN President Blair Barna.
C-Ville Weekly: Searching for solutions by Jordy Yager
Gambit: Black Lives Matter and Confederate statues in Louisiana (I; II; III) by Alex Woodward
Jackson Free Press: Jumping the Line: Caught in the Crossfire of Ridgeland’s Demographic Struggles (I; II) by Sierra Mannie
Seven Days: Finding Her Voice: Hate Crime Victim Fatuma Bulle Advocates for Refugee Women and Families; Cover Girls sidebar by Kymelya Sari
RACE REPORTING circulation 45,000 & over
Winner will receive $250 funded by Charleston City Paper co-owner and AAN President Blair Barna.
Chicago Reader: The Goldberg variation: High-rise public housing that works by Maya Dukmasova, Robin Amer
Houston Press: HISD’s College Success Program Uncovered Inequities and Is Changing the Status Quo by Margaret Downing
Pittsburgh City Paper: The Story of Martin Esquivel Hernandez (I; II; III; IV; V; VI) by Ryan Deto
Willamette Week: Shakedown by Leah Sottile
FILM CRITICISM circulation under 45,000
Winner will receive $250 funded by Southcomm in honor of Nashville Scene’s late Editor Jim Ridley
CITY Newspaper: Film Criticism (I; II; III) by Adam Lubitow
Orlando Weekly: Film Criticism (I; II; III) by Thaddeus McCollum
Seven Days: Film Criticism (I; II; III) by Margot Harrison
The Pitch: Film Criticism (I; II; III) by Scott Wilson
FILM CRITICISM circulation 45,000 & over
Winner will receive $250 funded by Southcomm in honor of Nashville Scene’s late Editor Jim Ridley
Baltimore City Paper: Film Criticism (I; II; III) by Adam Katzman
Chicago Reader: Film Criticism (I; II; III) by J.R. Jones
Salt Lake City Weekly: Film Criticism (I; II; III) by Scott Renshaw
The Village Voice: Film Criticism (I; II; III) by Melissa Anderson
WRITING CATEGORIES
ARTS CRITICISM circulation under 45,000
Charleston City Paper: All the City’s a Stage (I; II; III; IV; V) by Maura Hogan
Creative Loafing Tampa: The Underpants at Jobsite: Better without them; The Realistic Joneses at Tampa Rep: Weirdly wonderful; The Great Gatsby: Human, all too human by Mark Leib
Eugene Weekly: It’s Not Funny Anymore–In Tickled, journalist David Farrier exposes the wealth, power and abuse behind a bizarre Internet fetish by Rick Levin
Orlando Weekly: The word made flesh: Text-based art in the age of Instagram; Sweet dreams are made of this: Will Cotton’s candy-coated girls; The sublimity of the known: Gary Metz renders the vernacular transcendent by Jessica Bryce Young
ARTS CRITICISM circulation 45,000 & over
Houston Press: Theater Columns (I; II; III) by D.L. Groover
Houston Press: Theater Criticism (I; II; III) by Jessica Goldman
Washington City Paper: Art Blanche; The Man Behind the Curtain; Rip It Up and Start Again by Kriston Capps
Washington City Paper: Just Like Heaven: Angels in America at Round House Theatre, Reviewed; Hand to God Manages to Be Sympathetic, Godless, and Hilariously Funny; The Shakespeare Theatre Company’s The Taming of the Shrew Is a Drag by Chris Klimek
ARTS FEATURE circulation under 45,000
CITY Newspaper: Carvin Eison opens the lens to the community by Rebecca Rafferty
Folio Weekly: Hardcore Focus by Daniel Brown
The Memphis Flyer: Operation Broken Silence by Chris McCoy
YES! Weekly: What Does and Artist Look Like? by John Adamain
ARTS FEATURE circulation 45,000 & over
Chicago Reader: At Profiles Theatre the drama—and abuse—is real by Aimee Levitt, Christopher Piatt, Robin Amer, Jake Malooley, Paul John Higgins
L.A. Weekly: From Hollywood to Silicon Beach, L.A. Creatives Are Plotting Virtual Reality’s Boom by Liz Ohanesian
Phoenix New Times: Can The Eagles’ “Take It Easy” Save Winslow, Arizona? by Sativa Peterson
The Inlander: Never Gonna Give You Up by Dan Nailen
BEAT REPORTING circulation under 45,000
Boulder Weekly: Sports Beat (I; II; III; IV; V) by Emma Murray
East Bay Express: Bad Landlords (I; II; III; IV; V) by Darwin BondGraham
San Antonio Current: Immigration (I; II; III; IV; V) by Michael Barajas
Seven Days: Cops and Courts (I; II; III; IV; V) by Mark Davis
BEAT REPORTING circulation 45,000 & over
L.A. Weekly: L.A. County Has Had More Than 1,300 Police Shootings Since 2000. Why Has No Officer Been Charged? (I; II; III; IV; V) by Jason McGahan
The Inlander: Criminal Justice Beat (I; II; III; IV; V) by Mitch Ryals
Pittsburgh City Paper: Sports Coverage (I; II; III; IV; V) by Charlie Deitch
Willamette Week: Housing Stories (I; II; III; IV; V) by Rachel Monahan
COLUMN circulation under 45,000
Cincinnati CityBeat: Columns on Media and Streetcars (I; II; III) by Danny Cross
Coachella Valley Independent: Know Your Neighbors (I; II; III) by Anita Rufus
Planet Jackson Hole: Dispatch From Chios: We are the Same by Natosha Hoduski
COLUMN circulation 45,000 & over
Dallas Observer: Column (I; II; III) by Jim Schutze
Nashville Scene: Vodka Yonic (I; II; III) by Nancy Floyd, Megan Seling, Elizabeth Jones
Pittsburgh City Paper: Pittsburgh Left (I; II; III) by Charlie Deitch
COLUMN (POLITICAL) circulation under 45,000
Creative Loafing Tampa: Poet’s Notebook (I; II; III) by Peter Meinke
Jackson Free Press: Editor’s Notes (I; II; III) by Donna Ladd
Riverfront Times: Columns (I; II; III) by Sarah Fenske
The Pitch: Columns (I; II; III) by Barbara Shelly
COLUMN (POLITICAL) circulation 45,000 & over
Austin Chronicle: Point Austin (I; II; III) by Michael King
Dallas Observer: Columns (I; II; III) by Jim Schutze
L.A. Weekly: Columns (I; II; III) by Henry Rollins
FOOD WRITING circulation under 45,000
Charleston City Paper: Eat (I; II; III) by Kinsey Gidick
Cleveland Scene: Food Writing (I; II; III) by Douglas Trattner
East Bay Express: Food Writing (I; II; III) by Luke Tsai
Seven Days: Food Writing (I; II; III) by Hannah Palmer Egan
FOOD WRITING circulation 45,000 & over
L.A. Weekly: Food Writing (I; II; III) by Besha Rodell
Sacramento News & Review: Sushi, American Style by Janelle Bitker
Washington City Paper: Young and Hungry (I; II; III) by Laura Hayes
Willamette Week: “I Ate the Whole Thing,” “Closing Time,” and “Ramen Stories” by Matthew Korfhage
LONG-FORM NEWS STORY circulation under 45,000
Arkansas Times: Arkansan of the Year: The newly insured by Benjamin Hardy
C-Ville Weekly: Casualties in the war on drugs by Lisa Provence
East Bay Express: Caltrans Trashing Homeless Encampments (I; II) by Darwin BondGraham
INDY Week: The Snitch by John Tucker
LONG-FORM NEWS STORY circulation 45,000 & over
Houston Press: Get a Ticket While Being Poor in Houston? Here’s How You Might Wind Up in Jail by Michael Barajas
Sacramento News & Review: Homeless – and in hiding by Raheem F. Hosseini
The Inlander: Nothing But the Truth? by Mitch Ryals
Willamette Week: Bundyland by John Sepulvado
MUSIC WRITING circulation under 45,000
INDY Week: Music Writing (I; II; III; IV; V) by Allison Hussey
MUSIC WRITING circulation 45,000 & over
Chicago Reader: Music Writing (I; II; III) by Leor Galil
L.A. Weekly: Music Writing (I; II; III) by Matt Wake
Miami New Times: DJ Khaled’s Journey of Success Started Long Before Snapchat by Ryan Pfeffer
Westword: Is This the Most Hated Band in Colorado? by Chris Walker
PUBLIC SERVICE circulation under 45,000
Colorado Springs Independent: Troubles in the Colorado Springs Police Department (I; II; III; IV; V; VI; VII; VIII; IX) by Pam Zubeck
Flagpole Magazine: Crisis at Cedar Shoals High School (I; II; III; IV; V; VI; VII; VIII; IX; X) by Blake Aued, Rebecca McCarthy
Jackson Free Press: A Hunger to Live: Interrupting Violence in Jackson, Miss. (I; II; III; IV; V; VI; VII; VIII; IX; X) by Donna Ladd, Arielle Dreher, Imani Khayyam, Tim Summers Jr., Sierra Mannie, Maya Miller, Marzavier Harrington, Kristin Brenemen
The Portland Mercury: Stained Glass: Exposing Portland’s Toxic Art Glass Factories (I; II; III; IV; V; VI; VII; VIII; IX; X) by Daniel Forbes, Dirk VanderHart
PUBLIC SERVICE circulation 45,000 & over
Miami New Times: Kids Drown in Cruise Ship Pools With No Lifeguards on Duty by Jessica Lipscomb
The Village Voice: The Scam Albany Won’t Fix: Meet the Energy Companies Swindling Thousands of New Yorkers, and the State Watchdog Letting It Happen (I; II) by Jon Campbell
Willamette Week: Resist by Rachel Monahan, Nigel Jaquiss, Beth Slovic, Piper McDaniel, Sophia June, Aaron Mesh
DESIGN CATEGORIES
COVER DESIGN circulation under 45,000
Cincinnati CityBeat: Cover Designs (I; II; III) by Jennifer Hoffman
Good Times Santa Cruz: Cover Designs (I; II; III) by Tabi Zarrinnaal
INDY Week: Cover Designs (I; II; III) by Shan Stumpf, Skillet Gilmore
Seven Days: Cover Designs (I; II; III) byDiane Sullivan, Brooke Bousquet, Kym Balthazar, Jeff Drew
COVER DESIGN circulation 45,000 & over
Dallas Observer: Cover Designs (I; II; III) by Sarah Schumacher
Nashville Scene: Cover Designs (I; II; III) by Elizabeth Jones, Heather Lose
NOW Magazine: Cover Designs (I; II; III) by Michelle Wong, Troy Beyer, Stephen Chester, Tanja Tiziana
Phoenix New Times: Cover Designs (I; II; III) by Tom Carlson
EDITORIAL LAYOUT circulation under 45,000
City Newspaper: Black Teachers Matter by Ryan Williamson, Justyn Iannucci, Mark Chamberlin
City Newspaper: Rochester 10 by Ryan Williamson
Colorado Springs Independent: The things they carry by Dustin Glatz
Santa Fe Reporter: Bringing Chaco Home by Anson Stevens-Bollen
EDITORIAL LAYOUT circulation 45,000 & over
Las Vegas Weekly: Is It Over Yet? by Corlene Byrd
Nashville Scene: Pick Your Poison by Elizabeth Jones
The Inlander: Scandals Section by Derek Harrison
ILLUSTRATION circulation under 45,000
Cleveland Scene: Cavs Championship Illustration by Oliver Barrett
Gambit: The State of Women Part Two
Orlando Weekly: Heavy is the Head by Samantha Shumaker
Seven Days: Wellness Issue Challenge by Sean Metcalf
ILLUSTRATION circulation 45,000 & over
Isthmus: Six Stories of Adventure by Carolyn Fath, Michael Hirshon
L.A. Weekly: Best of LA (I; II; III; IV; V; VI) by Scott Anderson
Phoenix New Times: Into The Woods by Vlad Alvarez
The Inlander: Scholastic Fantastic (I; II; III; IV; V) by Jeff Drew
PHOTOGRAPHY circulation under 45,000
Eugene Weekly: 2016 In Music (I; II; III; IV; V; VI; VII; VIII; IX; X) by Todd Cooper
INDY Week: Photography (I; II; III; IV; V; VI; VII: VIII; IX; X) by Alex Boerner and Ben McKeown
Orlando Weekly: Pulse Photographs by Monivette Cordeiro
Style Weekly: Protest 2016 (I; II; III; IV; V; VI; VII; VIII; IX; X) by Scott Elmquist
PHOTOGRAPHY circulation 45,000 & over
Baltimore City Paper: Photography (I; II; III; IV; V; VI; VII; VIII; IX; X) by J.M. Giordano
Dallas Observer: ‘The Gut’ and the Glory: A Story in Photos by Danny Fulgencio
Houston Press: A Real Life Look at Kush Use in Houston (I; II; III; IV; V; VI; VII; VIII) by Leif Reigstad
L.A. Weekly: People 2016 (I; II; III; IV; V; VI; VII; VIII; IX; X) by Danny Liao
ONLINE CATEGORIES
ARTS & CULTURE BLOG
Creative Loafing Tampa: Self Publishing Notebook (I; II; III) by Jon Kile
MULTIMEDIA
Chicago Reader: People Issue video profiles (I; II) by Scrappers Film Group, Danielle A. Scruggs, Paul John Higgins
Seven Days: Stuck in Vermont 460: River of Light Harvest Moon Winooski Paddle by Eva Sollberger
Seven Days: Stuck Inside a Vermonter’s Colon by Eva Sollberger, Diane Sullivan, Bryan Parmelee
YES! Weekly: Coen Crisp changes more than pronouns (I; II) by Deonna Kelli Sayed
STAFF BLOG
Creative Loafing Tampa: CL at the RNC/DNC (I; II; III; IV; V) by Kate Bradshaw, David Warner, Michael Howard, Joeff Davis
Houston Press: News Staff Blog (I; II; III; IV; V) by Meagan Flynn, Leif Reigstad
Orlando Weekly: Bloggytown (I; II; III; IV; V) by Colin Wolf, Monivete Cordeiro
Pittsburgh City Paper: Politicrap (I; II; III; IV; V) by Rebecca Addison, Ryan Deto
OUTSIDE-THE-BOX CATEGORIES
CARTOON
INDY Week: Peripheral Visions (I; II; III; IV; V) by V.C. Rogers
Mountain Xpress: Cartoons (I; II; III; IV; V) by Brent Brown
NUVO: Gadfly (I; II; III; IV; V) by Wayne Bertsch
San Luis Obispo New Times: Cartoons (I; II; III: IV; V) by Russel Hodin
INNOVATION / FORMAT BUSTER
NUVO: Pocket Guide to Protesting (I; II) by NUVO Staff
Seven Days: Feel The Bern Adult Coloring Contest (I; II; III) by Marc Nadel, Bryan Parmelee, Pamela Polston, Cathy Resmer
Pittsburgh City Paper: Brain Feaster Sunday by Em DeMarco
Willamette Week: Slurptown by Matthew Korfhage, Adrienne So, Martin Cizmar, Zach Middleton, Nick Zukin, Michael C. Zusman, Ken Gordon
SPECIAL SECTION
Cleveland Scene: A Very Special RNC Coloring Book; Because If They Can Act Like Children, So Can You by Staff
L.A. Weekly: People Issue by Staff
Seven Days: What’s Good: The Seven Days Field Guide to Burlington by Carolyn Fox, Dan Bolles, Diane Sullivan, Cathy Resmer, Paula Routly, Don Eggert
Willamette Week: Going Coastal by Martin Cizmar, Staff
