This year the Canadian magazine industry will celebrate the 38th annual National Magazine Awards. Submissions open on December 1 for awards in over 40 categories, and we are looking for volunteer judges to serve on our juries.
Each year the National Magazine Awards Foundation relies on the generously donated time and expertise of over 200 volunteer judges, who sit on three-member peer juries for our written, visual, integrated and special awards. Judging takes place between early February and mid-April, depending on the category.
Ideal candidates should fulfill one or more of the following criteria:
- Editor, art director, publisher, web editor or other staff member (past or present) of a Canadian magazine, whether or not your publication participates in the National Magazine Awards (naturally you cannot serve as a judge in a category where your magazine is entered, but potentially in other categories);
- Freelance or staff writer, illustrator, photographer or digital creator, where a significant portion of your work is in Canadian magazines (especially if you have been nominated for or won a National Magazine Award yourself);
- Journalist with expertise in a particular field represented by one or more NMA categories (such as health, business, photojournalism, science, sports, travel, lifestyle, food, finance, poetry, etc);
- Bilingual (obviously not all of our judges need be bilingual, but all written categories are judged by both unilingual and bilingual juries, and most other categories include one or more bilingual members on their juries).
For more information, review the NMAF’s Judging Process on our website, as well as the Eligibility & Rules.
To nominate yourself or a colleague as a candidate to judge, please contact the NMAF at staff [at] magazine-awards.com. Please include your name, contact information and a brief bio or summary of your expertise.