The 2017 National Magazine Awards Jury

[This post has been updated] The NMAF is pleased to announce the roster of judges for the 2017 awards program, following the announcement last fall of the International Judges.
Each year the NMAF relies on the expertise of over 120 volunteer judges–editors, publishers, art directors, professors, writers, artists and other renowned journalists–to review the entries to the National Magazine Awards, deliberate and ultimately decide on the nominees and winners. The final list of this year’s NMA judges will be announced next month.
Read more about How Judging Works.
Click here to see the members of the Francophone Jury.
Click here to see the members of the International Jury

David Balzer is a writer, editor and teacher. He is the author of Curationism: How Curating Took Over the Art World and Everything Else, winner of ICA London’s 2015 Book of the Year, and the short-fiction collection Contrivances. He has written about art and culture for The Guardian, Modern Painters, Artforum, The Globe and Mail and others, and was the recipient of the 2015 International Award for Art Criticism. He is currently Editor-in-Chief and Co-Publisher at Canadian Art magazine, and lives in Toronto.

Arjun Basu is senior vice-president, content strategy, at Bookmark Content & Communications, and author of the novel Waiting for the Man.

Jared Bland is the publisher of McClelland & Stewart and vice-president of Penguin Random House Canada, and was formerly managing editor of The Walrus.

Penny Caldwell is the publisher and former editor-in-chief of Cottage Life magazine.

Dawn Chafe is an award-winning writer, accomplished interviewer, sharp editor and dedicated researcher. For the past 18 years, Dawn has been Executive Editor of Atlantic Canada’s most award-winning and largest circulation business magazine: Atlantic Business Magazine. Her tenure has been dedicated to the continuous improvement of the publication and the publishing industry, particularly with regards to an uncompromising editorial standard.

Ava Chisling is a media lawyer who counsels creative-types, from Oscar winners and publishers to graphic designers and bloggers. She is also an award-winning editor who writes mostly about pop culture/technology and the law — and sometimes creates ad campaigns and social media copy for a number of well-known brands.

Wayde Compton is the author of books of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, and the editor of two anthologies. Three of his books ¾ The Outer Harbour (Arsenal Pulp, 2014), After Canaan: Essays on Race, Writing, and Region (Arsenal Pulp, 2010), and The Revolving City: 51 Poems and the Stories Behind Them (Anvil-SFU Public Square, 2015) ¾ were finalists for the City of Vancouver Book Award, and the former won in 2015. His book 49^th Parallel Psalm (Arsenal Pulp, 1999) was a finalist for the Dorothy Livesay Prize. Compton is the associate director of Creative Writing in Continuing Studies at Simon Fraser University, where he administrates the Writer’s Studio.

Cherie Dimaline is the author of the novels Red Rooms, The Girl Who Grew A Galaxy, and, most recently the collection of short stories titled A Gentle Habit. In addition to writing, Cherie has edited numerous publications including Spirit, FNH and Muskrat magazines. Cherie was named the 2014 Emerging Artist of the Year – Ontario Premier’s Award, and was named the first Writer in Residence of Aboriginal Literature for the Toronto Public Library.

Tim Edwards is Senior Editor of Up Here magazine in Yellowknife.

Reanna Evoy is the brand creative director at Kit and Ace and was previously the art director of enRoute magazine.

Colin Faulkner is an award-winning studio photographer whose work has been published in Chatelaine, Toronto Life, Azure and other publications and clients.

Max Fawcett is a freelance journalist and has been the editor-in-chief at Alberta Oil magazine and Vancouver Magazine.

Zsuzsi Gartner is the author of the acclaimed story collection All the Anxious Girls on Earth, and editor of Darwin’s Bastards: Astounding Tales from Tomorrow. Her second book, Better Living through Plastic Explosives, was a Giller Prize finalist. She won her most recent National Magazine Award for Fiction in 2016.

Jim Gifford is Editorial Director, Non-Fiction, at HarperCollins Publishers Ltd (Canada). Over his twenty years as a non-fiction editor, he has published a number of bestselling and award-winning titles by Canadian and international authors, including Linden MacIntyre, Peter C. Newman, Jacquie McNish, Tim Flannery, and Lloyd Robertson, among many others. He lives and works in Toronto.

Curtis Gillespie is a 7-time National Magazine Award winner and the Editor-in-Chief of Eighteen Bridges magazine. He is the author of four books, including the memoir Playing Through: A Year of Life and Links Along the Scottish Coast, and the novel Crown Shyness.

Alex Gillis is a veteran author and journalist and teaches at the Ryerson University School of Journalism.

Lisa Gregoire is a National Magazine award-winning journalist, the managing editor of Nunatsiaq News and a contributing editor at Eighteen Bridges. She lives in Ottawa with her husband and their twin daughters.

Danielle Groen is a National Magazine Award-winning writer whose work has appeared in The Globe and Mail, The Grid, The Walrus, Flare, and Report on Business. She was formerly the Features Editor at Chatelaine.

Marni Jackson is the former Rogers Chair of the Literary Journalism program at the Banff Centre, where she is on the faculty of the Mountain and Wilderness Writing program. She has won numerous National Magazine Awards, and her debut novel, Don’t I Know You? (Flatiron Books), made both Globe and CBC Best Books of 2016 lists.

Jacqueline Kovacs has been an editor and writer for more than 25 years, including 13 years at Today’s Parent magazine. Currently, she is editor-in-chief for Metroland Media’s lifestyle magazines in York Region and Simcoe County.

Anita Kunz is a National Magazine Award-winning illustrator whose work has appeared in the New Yorker, TIME, The Walrus, Saturday Night, Toronto Life and other magazines.

Sonja Larsen is the author of Red Star Tattoo: My Life as a Girl Revolutionary, which was shortlisted for the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction.

Käthe Lemon is the editor of Avenue, Calgary’s city lifestyle magazine, and the editorial director for RedPoint Media. She taught communications history at Athabasca University for five years and is also the president of the Amber Webb-Bowerman Memorial Foundation, which provides scholarships and awards to young writers and journalism students.

Roger LeMoyne is a National Magazine Award-winning photojournalist whose work has appeared in The Walrus, Maisonneuve, Canadian Business, Canadian Geographic and other magazines.

Jean-François Légaré is the editor-in-chief of Air Canada enRoute magazine.

Gilbert Li is Principal of the creative studio The Office of Gilbert Li, a graphic design studio who works with discerning cultural organizations, publishers, educational institutions, non-profits and creative entrepreneurs. His work has won top North American design awards and has been featured in leading industry publications. He is a professional member of RGD Ontario and on The Advertising and Design Club of Canada’s Board of Directors.

Jeromy Lloyd has been a trade journalist for more than 10 years, primarily covering Canada’s media and marketing industries. As Marketing Magazine‘s managing editor, he helped lead the editorial team honoured by the Kenneth R Wilson Awards as the 2016 Magazine of the Year. His current role is Digital Editor at Brunico Communications, overseeing daily news operations for Strategy Online, Media In Canada and their affiliated brands.

Gil Martinez is a graphic designer and creative director at TC Media.

David McGimpsey was the winner of the 2016 National Magazine Award for Poetry and is the author of four books of short fiction and poetry, including L’il Bastard, which was nominated for the Governor General’s Award.

Marci McDonald is a 9-time National Magazine Award winner whose work has appeared in Toronto Life, The Walrus, Canadian Geographic and other publications, and was formerly the Washington Bureau Chief for Maclean’s. She is the author of The Armageddon Factor: the Rise of Christian Nationalism in Canada, and Yankee Doodle Dandy: Brian Mulroney and the American Agenda.

Stacey McLachlan is Executive Editor of Western Living and Vancouver magazines, and an award-winning feature writer.

Peter McNeill is the national director of KPMG Enterprise and a marketing executive with over twenty years of experience providing leadership and strategy to both start-ups and major Fortune 500 brands.

Anna Minzhulina is a National Magazine Award winner who was Creative Director of Maisonneuve for 10 years.

Stéphane Monnet is creative director and principal of the award-winning design firm Monnet Design.

John Montgomery is a freelance art director and graphic designer whose work has graced Taddle Creek, Canadian Business, MoneySense and other publications.

Alison Motluk is a Toronto-based freelance journalist who works in print and radio. She has won 4 National Magazine Awards for her work in Maisonneuve and The Walrus.

Chris Nicholls has won a record 20 National Magazine Awards for his photography in Toronto Life, Flare, Fashion, WeddingBells and other magazines.

Katrina Onstad’s best-selling second novel, Everybody Has Everything, has been published in several countries and was nominated for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and the Toronto Book Award. Her non-fiction writing on culture high and low has appeared in publications including The New York Times Magazine, The Guardian, Toronto Life and Elle. Katrina is a multiple National Magazine Award winner and received a Best Columnist nomination for her work in Chatelaine.

Evan Osenton is the editor of Alberta Views. Founded in 1997, Alberta Views provides information and fresh perspectives on the politics, social issues and culture of Alberta, and was Canada’s Magazine of the Year at the 2009 NMAs.

Janice Paskey is a professor of journalism at Mt. Royal University in Calgary, and past editor of Avenue magazine and the McGill University alumni magazine in Montreal. Over the course of her career, she has served as Canadian Correspondent for The Chronicle of Higher Education, web producer for CTV Calgary, Executive Director of Communications for the University of Calgary Development Office, and Manager of Communications for Development and Alumni at McGill.

Fidel Peña is a graphic designer, creative director and the co-founder of Underline Studio. His work has received numerous accolades from across Canada, the US and Europe, including from D&AD (UK), the ADCC and the Type Directors Club (NY). He has taught editorial design at OCAD University and lectured on design topics in Europe, North America and Latin America.

Philip Preville is a National Magazine Award-winning writer whose work as appeared in Cottage Life, Toronto Life, Canadian Business and many other publications.

Jean-Francois Proulx is the creative director of Nouveau Projet and of the design studio Balistique. He has won 3 National Magazine Awards.

Mark Pupo is the VP of content marketing for the software company Top Hat and the restaurant critic for Toronto Life. He’s served as features editor at Toronto Life and Saturday Night.

Sina Queyras is the author most recently of the poetry collection MxT (Coach House 2014) which received the QWF Award for poetry, the Pat Lowther Award, and the ReLit award for poetry. Expressway (Coach House 2009) was nominated for a Governor General’s Award and a selection from that book won Gold in the National Magazine Awards. Lemon Hound (Coach House 2006) won a Lambda Award and the Pat Lowther Award. She is also the author of the novel Autobiography of Childhood (2011) a finalist for the Amazon First Novel award. Her latest collection of poetry, My Ariel, is forthcoming. She lives in Montreal.

Christina Reynolds is an award-winning writer and editor. She was formerly the executive editor of ELLE Canada and the editor-in-chief of city magazine CalgaryInc. She’s also worked as a news/current events producer for CTV, an associate producer at the Business News Network, the editor-in-chief of city business magazine CalgaryInc and as a business writer and copy editor at The Calgary Herald.

D.B. Scott is the President of Impresa Communications Limited, publisher of Canadian Magazines blog, and a magazine and media consultant, writer, teacher, market researcher, publisher and editor.

Susan Scott is the nonfiction editor at The New Quarterly (TNQ) and associate creative director of the Wild Writers Literary Festival. She has taught at Wilfrid Laurier University and St Jerome’s University, and continues annually at Write on the French River Creative Writing Retreat.

As Design Director and Co-Founder of Berlin Studio Inc.,Barbara Solowan has overseen layout design and art direction projects for a diverse group of national and international clients. A graduate of the Ontario College of Art & Design, Solowan has a high profile within the editorial community, having worked with a range of publications, including City Woman, Globe and Mail’s ‘TORONTO’, Chicago, City & Country Home, Chatelaine’s ‘Special Editions’, Golf Style and Saturday Night, among other titles. Her editorial design work has been recognized with numerous professional awards, including seven National Magazine Awards for art direction. Solowan has served on the board of the Advertising and Design Club of Canada and was an instructor of editorial design at OCAD University. She is currently Art Director at Canadian Artand Inuit Art Quarterly.

Kelly Toughill is associate professor and director of the School of Journalism at the University of King’s College. Prior to climbing the ivory tower, she toiled at The Toronto Star and other North American newspapers as a writer and editor. She is a recipient of a National Newspaper Award and a Canadian Association of Journalists Award.

Stephen Trumper is an instructor at Ryerson’s School of Journalism and serves on the board of the Canadian Abilities Foundation, publisher of Abilities Magazine, for which he writes the back-page column. He is the recipient of the 2013 Outstanding Achievement award from the NMAF.

Emily Urquhart is a folklorist and National Magazine Award-winning writer, and is the author of Beyond the Pale: Folklore, Family and the Mystery of our Hidden Genes.

Jennifer Varkonyi is the publisher of Maisonneuve, Canada’s reigning Magazine of the Year.

Derek Webster is a freelance writer and editor, and founding publisher and editor-in-chief of Maisonneuve.

Bruce Weir is the editor-in-chief of Swerve magazine.

Shelley Youngblut is the General Director of Wordfest, Calgary’s festival of readers, writers and artists. Previously she was the Western Editor of the Globe and Mail, features editor at ESPN the Magazine, and founding editor of Swerve, the Calgary Herald’s award-winning weekly magazine.