The finalists for the 2020 AAN Awards have been selected. The 92 finalists below were chosen as the most outstanding from a field of 526 entries submitted by 55 alternative publications across the U.S. and Canada (and Norway!).
Held every year since 1996, the AAN Awards recognize the best in alternative journalism and graphic design and are a unique chance for alt-weeklies to compete directly against the work of their peers in cities across the continent. The contest promotes excellence by recognizing work that is well written, incisively reported and effectively challenges established orthodoxies. These finalists truly represent the best of the best.
This spring, all members of AAN were invited to enter their work from 2019 for awards consideration. This year saw the addition of two new Writing Categories – Healthcare Reporting and Best Right Wing Extremism Coverage. Judging was conducted by faculty from Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York, Scripps School of Communication at Ohio University, University of Memphis, and Humboldt State University.
The winners will be announced during a virtual reception on Friday, September 18 at 3PM Eastern. Tune in here – https://tinyurl.com/aanawards
Finalists below are listed alphabetically by paper. Categories with four or more finalists indicate either a tie or an honorable mention. Questions may be directed to Molly Hilton at hilton@aan.org
CASH PRIZE CATEGORIES
Arts Criticism (Jim Ridley Award)
One $500 prize will be awarded, funded by Nashville Scene.
City Newspaper: Film Criticism (I, II, III) by Adam Lubitow
Nashville Scene: Film Criticism (I, II, III) by D. Patrick Rodgers
Seven Days: Quick Lit (I, II, III) by Margot Harrison
Triad City Beat: “Thanks I hate it: That Frida Kahlo mural” by Sayaka Matsuoka
Column (Billy Manes Award)
One $250 prize will be awarded, funded by Orlando Weekly.
Dig Boston: “Dear Reader” (I, II, III) by Chris Faraone
Jackson Free Press: “Dossier: Truth to (Media) Power in Mississippi” (I, II, III) by Donna Ladd
Pittsburgh City Paper: “Peepshow” (I, II, III) by Jessie Sage
Pittsburgh City Paper: “Voices” (I, II, III) by Tereneh Idia
Investigative Reporting (David Carr Award)
One $500 cash prize will awarded, funded by Omaha Reader.
Monterey County Weekly: “How Nuestra Familia, a criminal organization, took control of MILPA, a community group in Salinas” (I, II, III, IV) by Monterey County Weekly staff with KSBW and Voices of Monterey Bay, Sara Rubin, Mary Duan
Seven Days: “Guarded Secrets” (I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX) by Paul Heintz
Triad City Beat: “United Youth Care Services and Medicaid fraud” (I, II, III) by Jordan Green
LGBT Coverage
One $500 prize will be awarded, funded by Boulder Weekly publisher Fran Zankowski.
Dig Boston: “Unbearable Pressure” by Yidan Sun
Orlando Weekly: “Speed Trap” by Xander Peters
Seven Days: “HOWLing at the Moon: A Women’s Collective Grapples With a Gender-Fluid Future” by Chelsea Edgar
YES! Weekly: “Living with HIV” by Katie Murawski
Nonprofit Collaboration (The BINJ Award)
One $500 cash prize will awarded to the author/team, funded by the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism
Eugene Weekly, with University of Oregon Catalyst Journalism Project: “An Unsuccessful Solution” (I, II, III) by Taylor Perse , Morgan Theophil, Catalyst Journalism Project , Eugene Weekly
INDY Week, with Duke University’s Ninth Street Journal: “The Death of Bill Bishop” (I, II, III, IV) by Ben Leonard, Erin Williams, Swathi Ramprasad
Santa Fe Reporter, with New Mexico Fund for Public Interest Journalism: “Roadmap to Resilience” by Julia Goldberg, Olivia Abeyta, Max Looft, Anna Girdner, James Taylor
Santa Fe Reporter, with New Mexico In Depth: “Case (not) Closed” by Jeff Proctor, Trip Jennings, Julie Ann Grimm
Right-Wing Extremism Coverage
One $500 cash prize will awarded, funded by Anonymous
INDY Week: “Send Her Back. Send Her Back. Send Her Back.” by Leigh Tauss
Jackson Free Press: “God Save the Governor: Phil Bryant, Brexit Soldier” by Ashton Pittman
Triad City Beat: “Guns Up, Saftey Off: First responders and public safety personnel joined militia Facebook group” by Jordan Green
Willamette Week: “A Tiny Problem” (I, II, III, IV, V) by Katie Shepherd
WRITING CATEGORIES
Arts Feature
C-Ville Weekly: “Hitting the right note” by Erin O’Hare
Orlando Weekly: “Black art’s new dawn: Orlando artists carve out a space for expressions of Blackness” by Renata Sago
Salt Lake City Weekly: “The Beyhive State: Inside one Utah author’s bootylicious mashup of Beyoncé and academia” by Enrique Limón
Washington City Paper: “Life, Camera, Action” by Kayla Randall
Beat Reporting
Mountain Xpress: Education Beat (I, II, III, IV, V) by Virginia Daffron
Nashville Scene: Executions (I, II, III, IV) by Steven Hale
Washington City Paper: Criminal Justice Beat (I, II, III, IV, V) by Joshua Kaplan
Washington City Paper: Housing Beat (I, II, III, IV, V) by Morgan Baskin
Feature Story
Chicago Reader: “Fear and loathing at a South Shore Co-op” by Maya Dukmasova, Sujay Kumar
Chicago Reader: “Pangea has taken thousands to eviction court. The story of an apartment empire” by Maya Dukmasova, Sujay Kumar
Dig Boston: “The Longest Trip” by Jenny Rollins
Little Village: “Michelle Martinko’s murder ‘haunted’ the Cedar Rapids community for 40 years. Now, her suspected killer is set to go on trial” by Jen Moulton, Emma McClatchey
Food Writing
Arkansas Times: (I, II) by Stephanie Smittle
Chicago Reader: (I, II, III) by Mike Sula, Kate Schmidt
North Coast Journal: (I, II, III) by Jennifer Fumiko Cahill
The Pitch: “They serve food at the midtown Home Depot now. You will want to read the menu carefully.” by Liz Cook
Health Care Coverage
Santa Fe Reporter: “No Place To Rest” by Leah Cantor
Seven Days: “Hooked” (I, II, III, IV, V) by Kate O’Neill
Willamette Week: “Alt-Vaxx” by Rachel Monahan
Immigration Coverage
Boulder Weekly: “Windows, Walls and Invisible Lines: Portraits of Life in Sanctuary” by Joel Dyer
Cincinnati CityBeat: “Without a Country” by Nick Swartsell
Jackson Free Press: “ICE Raids in Mississippi” (I, II, III, IV, V) by Ashton Pittman Aliyah Veal
Nashville Scene: “Resisting ICE” (I, II) by Steven Hale, Alejandro Ramierez
Long-Form News Story
Chicago Reader: “The big house and the picket fence” by Mari Cohen, Sujay Kumar
Queen City Nerve: “Then and Now: Segregation Still Pervades in CMS” (I, II, III) by Brenna Swanston
San Antonio Current: “Detention Inc.: Trump’s Immigrant Crackdown Means Big Money for Private Prisons” by Sanford Nowlin
Willamette Week: “Both Sides Now” by Nigel Jaquiss
Music Writing
Boulder Weekly: (I, II, III) by Caitlin Rockett
Chicago Reader: (I, II, III) by Leor Galil
Jackson Free Press: (I, II, III) by Aliyah Veal
San Antonio Current: (I, II, III) by Chris Conde
Political Column
Charleston City Paper: (I, II, III) by Andy Brack
INDY Week: “Soapboxer” (I, II, III) by Jeffrey Billman
Jackson Free Press: “The Political Hell Women Face in Mississippi” (I, II, III) by Donna Ladd
The Memphis Flyer: (I, II, III) by Jackson Baker
DESIGN CATEGORIES
Cover Design
Good Times Santa Cruz: (I, II, III) by Tabi Zarrinnaal
INDY Week: (I, II, III) by Annie Maynard
Pittsburgh City Paper: (I, II, III) by Abbie Adams, Jared Wickerham
Santa Fe Reporter: (I, II, III) by Anson Stevens-Bollen
Editorial Layout
INDY Week: “Murder in the Bull City” by Annie Maynard
INDY Week: “Waiting for Good Dough” by Annie Maynard
Las Vegas Weekly: “Henderson: There’s Something for Everyone in One of the Nation’s Fastest-Growing Cities” by Corlene Byrd
Las Vegas Weekly: “Pot Culture: What To Watch, Eat and Listen To While You’re Enjoying 420” by Corlene Byrd
Illustration
Charleston City Paper: Illustrations (I, II, III) by Scott Suchy
Las Vegas Weekly: “Electric Daisy Carnival Lights Up The Desert” by Sergio Vazquez
Las Vegas Weekly: “Pot Culture” by Zach Meyer
Nashville Scene: “Best of Nashville” (I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII) by Lauren Cierzan
Photography
Boulder Weekly: “Windows, Walls and Invisible Lines: Portraits of Life in Sanctuary” by Joel Dyer
Pittsburgh City Paper: “Pittsburgh in Photos” (I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X) by Jared Wickerham
Style Weekly: “Murder Vigil: In the aftermath of gun violence” (I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X) by Scott Elmquist
Washington City Paper: “2019” (I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X) by Darrow Montgomery
OUTSIDE-THE-BOX CATEGORIES
Cartoon
Little Village: “Futile Wrath” (I, II, III, IV, V) by Sam Locke Ward, Jordan Sellergren
Seven Days: Cartoons (I, II, III, IV, V) by Tim Newcomb
Slowpoke Comics: Cartoons (I, II, III, IV, V) by Jen Sorensen
Innovation/Format Buster
Austin Chronicle: “Austin Music Yearbook” by Kevin Curtin, Jason Stout
Chicago Reader: “Aldermania! The Board Game” (I, II) by Aimee Levitt, Ben Joravsky, Sue Kwong, David Alvarado
Seven Days: “Worse For Care” (I, II, III, IV, V, VI ,VII, VIII, IX) by Andrea Suozzo, Derek Brouwer , Emily Corwin
Willamette Week: “Portland At All Hours” by Nigel Jaquiss, Rachel Monahan, Katie Shepherd, Elise Herron, Laurel Kadas, Justin Katigbak, Henry Cromett, Matthew Singer, Sage Brown, Sophie Peel, Aaron Mesh, Katherine Topaz
Multimedia
Chicago Reader: “The Block Beat” (I, II, III, IV) by Philip Montoro, Arthur E. Haynes II, Darius Griffin, Jiayan “Jenny” Shi, Alex Y. Ding, ThoughtPoet , Tiffany Walden, Pat Nabong, Morgan Elise Johnson, The TRiiBE
Little Village: “Studio Visits” (I, II, III, IV, V) by Jason Smith
Pittsburgh City Paper: “Venue Guide Walkthroughs” (I, II, III) by Jared Wickerham, Jordan Snowden
Seven Days: “Stuck in Vermont: Lily Stilwell Competes in Gymkhana Ice Time Trials” by Eva Sollberger, James Buck
Special Section
Chicago Reader: “Best of Chicago 2019” by Jamie Ramsay, Sue Kwong, Lisa Predko, Brian Gladkowski, Karen Hawkins, Sujay Kumar, Leor Galil, Jamie Ludwig, Catey Sullivan, Maya Dukmasova, Kate Schmidt, Mike Sula, Salem Collo-Julin, Kerry Reid, Deanna Isaacs
Icepeople: “10 Years Of Total Lunacy (Icepeople’s 10th Anniversary Issue)” by Mark Sabbatini
North Coast Journal: “Media Literacy Issue” by North Coast Journal Staff
Volume One: “Bike Boom” by Lauren Fisher, Taylor McCumber, Eric Christenson, Andrea Paulseth, Tom Giffey, Mike Paulus, James Johonnott, Rebecca Mennecke
Special Publication
Boulder Weekly: “Feast” by Matt Cortina
Little Village: “Bread & Butter Dining Guide” by Frankie Schneckloth, Jordan Sellergren, Zak Neumann
Salt Lake City Weekly: “City Guide 2019” by Enrique Limón and City Weekly staff
Seven Days: “What’s Good: The Annual Field Guide to Burlington” by Seven Days Staff
Willamette Week: “Summer Road Trip 2019” by Andi Prewitt, Pete Cottell, Michelle Devona, Shannon Gormley, Elise Herron, Adam Sawyer, Matthew Singer, Cameron Vigliotta, Nicole Vulcan, Kat Topaz, Elise Furlan
