The National Media Awards Foundation is delighted to announce that Lisa Whittington-Hill is the recipient of the 2025 Foundation Award for Outstanding Achievement.
Lisa Whittington-Hill has been a stalwart of the Canadian magazine industry for many years. She can do it all. There is almost literally no one else who can so wonderfully fill the roles of publisher, editor, fundraiser, teacher, advocate, mentor, and inspirer-in-chief. At a time when the industry is in peril—and small magazines, in particular, seem perpetually on life support—we need journalists like Lisa more than ever. She swoops in, rolls up her sleeves, and makes publishing possible, all while cultivating the next generation of magazine contributors. The very definition of outstanding, Lisa is one of the most deserving winners of this award.
—NMA Jury
Lisa Whittington-Hill is the publisher of This Magazine, an award-winning progressive magazine of politics, ideas, and culture. She began her career at This Magazine in 2001 as a volunteer copy editor and fact checker and was later the magazine’s arts editor and circulation manager. She became publisher of This Magazine in 2005.
Lisa is a mentor to magazines across the country—in addition to consulting on circulation, fundraising and marketing for a variety of small magazines, she has been a consultant for Magazines Canada’s travelling consultants program and the Alberta Magazine Publishers Association’s pros on the road program.
Outside of any official capacities, Lisa has always been a valuable sounding board for discussing industry-related issues, problems, etc. I know I am not the only one who enjoys and values such a relationship with her. I know few people in the industry as dedicated, committed, and clever as Lisa.
—Conan Tobias, Former Editor-in-Chief & Publisher, Taddle Creek
Throughout her career, Lisa has been a tireless volunteer and advocate for the Canadian magazine industry. She was a director and secretary on the board of directors of Magazines Canada, in addition to chairing the association’s Consumer Marketing and Small Magazines committees. In 2017, she received Magazines Canada’s Volunteer of the Year Award. Lisa has also served on the boards of the National Magazine Awards, Word on the Street and CWILA (Canadian Women in the Literary Arts). She is currently a jury member for the Polaris Music Prize.
Since 2017, Lisa has been an instructor in the book and magazine publishing program at Centennial College where she enthusiastically teaches students about magazine publishing, writing, editing and marketing. In 2019, she was nominated for the George Wicken Memorial Award for Teaching Excellence.
Most applicants to our program tell us that they want a career as a book editor, and they don’t read magazines. Then they start classes and meet Lisa. By the second semester they share Lisa’s love of magazines.
—Denise Schon, Professor and Coordinator, Publishing–Book, Magazine and Electronic, Centennial College
Lisa is a successful freelance writer whose work has appeared in a variety of publications; including Longreads, The Walrus, Catapult, Hazlitt, The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star and more. In 2022, she was nominated in the personal journalism category at the National Magazine Awards for her piece “OCD Is Not a Joke” in The Walrus. She is also the author of a book in the 33⅓ music series on Beauty and the Beat by the Go-Go’s, and Girls, Interrupted, her collection of essays on how pop culture is failing women, which was published by Montreal’s Véhicule Press in 2023. Her book for ECW Press’s Pop Classics Series on the MTV reality show The Hills will be published in October 2026 and she is currently working on a book about 80s pop culture for Véhicule Press (Spring 2027).
Having known Lisa as a fine writer, I was not surprised to observe her success with Girls, Interrupted, a book I found engaging and enlightening. For all her accomplishments to date, Lisa is an individual who will undoubtedly achieve more and contribute more to the media space in the years ahead.
—Mark Jamison, former CEO, Magazines Canada
Finalists for the 48th annual National Magazine Awards will be announced tomorrow, May 1, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. EDT. The 48th National Magazine Awards gala is set for June 13, 2024 at Arcadian Court in Toronto. Tickets are on sale tomorrow, and we look forward to seeing you there!