Each year, the City and Regional Magazine Association hands out awards honoring the top work among such publications nationwide, and this year, as was the case last year, Chicago received 14 nominations. That recent news provides a good excuse to take a look back at our nominated work from 2023:
- Profile: In “The Violin Doctor,” Elly Fishman wrote about John Becker, entrusted to repair the world’s finest violins.
- Feature story: “The Last Gamble of Tokyo Joe” by Dan O’Sullivan tells the story of Ken Eto, who rose through the ranks of the Chicago mob, which then tried to kill him.
- Food and dining writing: John Kessler was recognized for his reviews of Le Select, Warlord, and Smoque Steak.
- Photography: With his portraits in “Why They Carry,” photographer Christian K. Lee’s offered a fresh perspective on Chicago’s Black gun owners.
- Leisure/lifestyle interests: In “39 Reasons to Love Winter in Chicago,” we broke down why we cherish the city’s most notorious season.
- Online column: Edward Robert McClelland was a finalist for his mayoral race coverage, including this, this, and this.
- Online column: John Kessler’s “Kessler on Dining” was nominated for posts such as this, this, and this.
- Multiplatform storytelling: “Chicagoans of the Year” highlighted six people changing this city for the better. The online treatment included video interviews by Ross Feigherty.
- Excellence in writing: We were nominated for our May issue, which included stories such as this, this, this, and this.
- Ancillary product: “Chicago’s 50 Best Things to Eat,” a special issue that came out last summer, spotlighted the best dishes the city has to offer.
- Designer of the year: David Syrek
- Magazine section: The 312
- Excellence online: chicagomag.com
- General excellence