Updated for 2027
The 50th annual National Magazine Awards competition will be open as of December 1, 2026 to Canadian print and digital magazines and to Canadian citizens or Permanent Residents (landed immigrants) who held that status at the time their work appeared in them during the 2026 calendar year.
For this competition, the NMAF’s guiding principle for magazine publishing is that the publication—whether print or digital—must:
- Self-describe as a magazine;
- Have a permanent editorial staff in Canada;
- Be published in English, French, or a combination of both languages;
- Be editorial in nature (that is, it must have and submit a clear editorial mandate);
- Be the product of an editorial process.
The NMAF reserves the right for its judges to decide whether a publication qualifies as a magazine.
All submissions must satisfy the following rules:
- Eligible content for the 2027 awards year:
- Original work which appears in a 2026 issue;
- Original work which appears in the December 2026–January 2027 issue of a bi-monthly magazine is eligible;
- A single issue dated January or Winter 2026 is eligible, even if it appeared on newsstands prior to January 2026;
- Submissions from digital-only magazines with no print edition must be original work first published during the 2026 calendar year. For print magazines, eligibility continues to be determined by the issue date, regardless of when the issue is distributed, posted online or appears on newsstands.
NOT Eligible for the 2027 awards year:
- Original work which appears in the December 2025–January 2026 issue of a bi-monthly magazine;
- Original work which appears in the December 2025–March 2026 issue of a quarterly magazine;
- A single issue dated January or Winter 2027* (even if it appears on the newsstand in 2026).
*In the case of a split issue dated Fall/Winter 2026/2027, magazines may choose to enter the content for the 2026–2027 awards year OR the 2027–2028 awards year, but not both.
2. The NMAF requires that all submitters disclose sponsored content* on the entry form.
*Sponsored content is editorial content financially supported by a commercial sponsor, but produced independently from that sponsor. Journalism grants and fellowships that maintain full editorial independence are not considered sponsored content. Sponsored content is eligible for awards, provided that the submitter affirms that no third party exerted an influence on or played a role in the editorial process (including but not limited to research, reporting, writing, content and image creation, editing). The NMAF entrusts its judges with the final decision as to whether sponsored content should be considered for an award.
3. The NMAF mandates transparency regarding the use of artificial intelligence in submitted work. As such, entrants must disclose any AI assistance* in their content on the submission form.
*”AI assistance” refers to editorial material enhanced or created using artificial intelligence technologies. This encompasses the use of AI in activities such as writing, visual generation, editing, design, and more. Entries containing AI-supported content are eligible for awards, provided that they adhere to the NMAF’s standards for originality and the specific role of AI is transparently declared upon submission. The ultimate decision on the consideration of AI-supported content for awards rests with the NMAF jury.
4. Awards are intended for Canadian content creators (citizens and permanent residents/landed immigrants). Therefore:
- Awards for illustration are limited to Canadian illustrators. Additionally, the work submitted must have been commissioned by the magazine.
- Awards for photography are limited to Canadian photographers. Previously published photos and stock photography are not accepted, except in the Editorial category of Best Cover.
- Awards for art direction are open to Canadian art directors and their staff or freelance associates;
- Awards for writing are open to Canadian staff or Canadian freelance contributors;
- Awards for editorial categories are open to Canadian editors, art directors, and freelance contributors;
- While the main creators credited for an entry must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents/landed immigrants, other credited contributors may be non-Canadian.
5. Excerpts, serializations or condensations from books or books in progress are inadmissible, except when the writer’s/photographer’s work originated as a print or digital publication assignment and was primarily financed by the publication and edited as the publication’s own copy.
6. Work entered as Fiction is not eligible for entry in other categories.
7. Except where stated, there is no limit on the number of entries submitted per category. Finalists will be proportionate to the number of entries submitted in a category up to a maximum of ten finalists.
8. No entries will be returned.
9. All submissions must be accompanied by permission, not for sale or profit, to use the entries of finalists in the Awards presentation program, blog, website and social media, and to include any winning entry in perpetuity in the award archives on the Foundation’s website. The Foundation reserves the right to use the entries of finalists in the Awards presentation program/exhibit/digital book/website, but not for sale or profit.
10. Entries that do not conform to the rules or fit category definitions may be disqualified without notice. Entry fees for disqualified or withdrawn submissions will not be refunded.
11. A minimum of three (3) submissions must be received in a category for a judging panel of judges to be convened. The NMAF also reserves the right to cancel any category in which the jury decides no entry is of sufficient quality to merit an award. In the event that a category is cancelled, entry fees will be refunded to submitters.
12. If there is a tie for Gold in a creator-focused category, both creators will receive a $1000 cash prize.
13. For the categories listed below, entries will be accepted through the Digital Publishing Awards and the National Magazine Awards. All entries will be evaluated by a single panel of judges. Categories include:
- Best Editorial Newsletter
- Best Podcast: Current Affairs
- Best Podcast: Arts, Culture and Society
- Best Podcast: True Crime
- Best Online Video: Feature
- Best Online Video: Mini-Doc
- Best Arts & Culture Storytelling
- Best Science & Technology Storytelling
14. The decision of the judges will be final.