Surely you’ve heard that print journalism is doomed: layoffs this, budget cuts that, blogs, Twitter, podcasts, paid content, and so on. We, the deciders of the 20th annual Utne Independent Press Awards, must respectfully disagree with this conventional but flawed wisdom.
Each day we work with a lively congregation of unswervingly gutsy, dynamic publications, so vital and valuable that our meeting to finalize this year’s best new publication nominees spanned two days, five rounds of voting, and an intricate tiebreak initiative.
In fact, print lovers will be heartened to know that despite tough times for nominees–perennial spiritual coverage contender ascent recently ceased publication, and Greater Good and Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved online–our library of 1,300 magazines, newsletters, journals, zines, and alt weeklies had one of the strongest years in the history of our awards.
We judged issues published during 2008. Winners will be announced at a celebration in Boulder, Colorado, during the Magazine Publishers of America’s Independent Magazine Group conference (May 17-19) and published in the July-August issue of Utne Reader.
General Excellence
Bidoun
Bitch
High Country News
Meatpaper
The Nation
New Statesman
Orion
Virginia Quarterly Review
Best New Publication
Lapham’s Quarterly
The Open Face Sandwich
Paper & Carriage
Paper Monument
RUSSIA!
Slice
Standpoint
two.one.five
Health/Wellness Coverage
Ecologist
Momentum
Natural Solutions
New Mobility
Nutrition Action Healthletter
POZ
Psychotherapy Networker
YES!
Spiritual Coverage
ascent
Geez
Image
Parabola
Portland
Resurgence
Tricycle
UU World
Social/Cultural Coverage
Alberta Views
Bidoun
Contexts
Gastronomica
Greater Good
Meatpaper
Next American City
Urbanite
International Coverage
Middle East Report
New Internationalist
New Statesman
Red Pepper
Verge
Virginia Quarterly Review
World Affairs
World Policy Journal
Science/Tech Coverage
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
California
IEEE Spectrum
Miller-McCune
Science News
The Scientist
Stanford
Technology Review
Arts Coverage
The Believer
Bookforum
Broken Pencil
Creative Review
The FADER
Film Comment
Theme
Wax Poetics
Environmental Coverage
Audubon
Earth Island Journal
Ecotone
High Country News
Mother Jones
OnEarth
Orion
Sustainable Industries
Best Writing
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Columbia Journalism Review
Gastronomica
The New Republic
Orion
The Texas Observer
Virginia Quarterly Review
The Walrus
Best Zine
Brooklyn!
Jesus Christ Super Zine!
The Juniper
Keep Loving, Keep Fighting / I Hate This Part of Texas
Macaroni
Rad Dad
Smile, Hon, You’re in Baltimore!
Wave2.5
Political Coverage
The American Conservative
The American Prospect
Democracy: A Journal of Ideas
Dollars & Sense
Governing
The New Republic
The Texas Observer
The Washington Monthly