One of the youngest winners of a 2005 AltWeekly Award is Nick Goodenough, whose column for Ventura County Reporter, "Nick at Night," took first place for photography in the small-paper division. In an interview with AAN intern Lindsay Kishter, Goodenough explains how he managed to take photos on packed dance floors without blurring his subjects or losing his grip on his camera. This is the first in a series titled "How I Got That Story" that will highlight the AltWeekly Awards' first-place winners.
This year AAN put out no ordinary awards book. Among the honored first-place entries is a Pulitzer Prize-winning story by Willamette Week's Nigel Jaquiss. "Best AltWeekly Writing and Design 2005" offers a wide selection of riveting reading, produced by some seasoned writers and others just beginning to make their mark. The bookstore-quality volume is designed to reach a wider audience than ever.
Judges' critiques of the 2005 AltWeekly Awards winners can now be downloaded for review. The same comments will appear in AAN Press's forthcoming book, Best AltWeekly Writing and Design 2005. Individual newspapers can also obtain summaries of remarks on all of their entries.
At a luncheon Friday during the AAN convention in San Diego, Dan Savage handed out four first place awards to L.A. Weekly. Four papers -- Chicago Reader, Folio Weekly, Jackson Free Press and Orlando Weekly -- took first place honors in two categories each. Read the full list of winners.