A relatively new magazine, aiming to improve the urban fabric of Scotland – even if it does include annually exposing the country's Carbunkle of the Year – has been named Scottish Magazine of the Year.
At an awards ceremony held in Glasgow last night – hosted by the Periodical Publishers Association – Urban Realm beat off winners in over a dozen categories to take the main prize at this year's Scottish Magazine Awards.
The magazine – published quarterly by the Carnyx Group – took the individual category title as Best Design, Business and Professional. It used to be known as Prospect – the UK's oldest architectural magazine, founded in 1922 – until undergoing a revamp.
Publisher, Gordon Young, told allmediascotland.com afterwards that the magazine was more a passion than a commercial undertaking.
Just before Urban Realm was revealed as the judges' number one choice, special mentions were made of Fly Fishing & Fly Tying, DC Thomson's WWe Kids Magazine, The Banter, and Scottish Local Retailer's Susan Dignon.
But kicking off the whole evening – with comedian, Craig Hill, in gloriously entertaining form – a lifetime achievement award was given to Cameron McNeish, now editor-at-large of The Great Outdoors magazine, after 19 years as editor and whose passion for the Scottish mountains makes him a regular on both television and radio.
He had almost not made the event because of the recent adverse weather and was – he says – so shocked, he was lost for words, probably for the first time ever.
Columnist of the Year, Holyrood Magazine editor, Mandy Rhodes, was winning the title for a second time. And one of the biggest cheers of the evening was for the winner of the Consumer Magazine of the Year title: The People's Friend.
Watch the awards ceremony on YouTube, here.
The winners were:
Best online presence
Winner: The Great Outdoors, Newsquest (Herald & Times)
Finalists: CA Magazine, Connect Communications; Fly Fishing & Fly Tying, Rolling River Publications; The Drum, Carnyx Group; The Journal (of the Law Society of Scotland), Connect Communications; and The Scottish Farmer, Newsquest (Herald & Times).
Best magazine design: business & professional
Winner: Urban Realm, Carnyx Group
Finalists: Holyrood, Holyrood Communications; Surgeons’ News, CMYK Design; The Drum, Carnyx Group; The Exova Magazine, White Light Media; and Unfiltered, Connect Communications.
Best magazine design: consumer
Winner: Tree News, Think Scotland
Finalists: The Banter, West Dunbartonshire Community & Volunteering Services; The Big Issue Scotland, The Big Issue; The Great Outdoors, Newsquest (Herald & Times)l The List, The List; and WWe Kids Magazine, DC Thomson.
Best small publishing company magazine
Winner: Scotland Outdoors, Big Bend Publishing
Finalists: East Lothian Life, PJ Design; Fusion Flowers, Fusion Flowers; Living Orkney, Orkney Media Group; Scottish Islands Explorer, Ravenspoint Press; and The Banter, West Dunbartonshire Community & Volunteering Services.
Business & professional magazine of the year
Winner: ENT & Audiology News, Pinpoint Scotland
Finalists: Holyrood, Holyrood Communications; Scottish Dental Magazine, Connect Communications; Scottish Local Retailer, 55 North; The Scottish Farmer, Newsquest (Herald & Times); and Times Educational Supplement Scotland, TSL Education.
Columnist of the year
Winner: Mandy Rhodes, Holyrood, Holyrood Communications
Finalists: Ron Ferguson, Life & Work, Church of Scotland; Gilly Fraser, Dumfries & Galloway Life, CN Group Magazines; Mike Harding, Fly Fishing & Fly Tying, Rolling River Publications; and Richard Wright, The Scottish Farmer, Newsquest (Herald & Times).
Consumer magazine of the year
Winner: People’s Friend, DC Thomson
Finalists: Able, Craven Publishing; Dumfries & Galloway Life, CN Group Magazines; Fly Fishing & Fly Tying, Rolling River Publications; No.1, PSP Publishing; The List, The List; and The Official Jacqueline Wilson Magazine, DC Thomson.
Customer magazine of the year
Winner: Discover NLS, Think Scotland
Finalists: Equiniti, White Light Media; Glasgow, Glasgow City Council; TalentScotland, Connect Communications; and Venturer, VMD Media.
Editor of the year: business & professional
Winner: Peter Nicholson, The Journal (of the Law Society of Scotland), Connect Communications
Finalists: Antony Begley, Scottish Local Retailer, 55 North; Alasdair Fletcher, The Scottish Farmer, Newsquest (Herald & Times); Daniel Lambie, Teaching Scotland, Connect Communications; and Mandy Rhodes, Holyrood, Holyrood Communications.
Editor of the year: consumer
Winner: Bryce Ritchie, Bunkered / Scottish, English & Welsh Club Golfer, PSP Publishing
Finalists: Mark Bowler, Fly Fishing & Fly Tying, Rolling River Publications; Nadine Hawkins, No.1, PSP Publishing; Paul McNamee, The Big Issue Scotland, The Big Issue; Maria Welch, Shout / Official Jacqueline Wilson Magazine / GoodieBag Mag, DC Thomson; and Lorraine Wilson, The Scots Magazine, DC Thomson.
Feature writer of the year: business & professional
Winner: Emma Seith, Times Educational Supplement Scotland, TSL Education
Finalists: Karen Carruth, The Scottish Farmer, Newsquest (Herald & Times); Katie Macintosh, Holyrood, Holyrood Communications; Eilidh MacPherson, FarmingScotland.com, FarmingScotland.com; and Jean McLeish, Times Educational Supplement Scotland, TSL Education.
Feature writer of the year: consumer
Winner: Emily Rodway, The Great Outdoors, Newsquest (Herald & Times)
Finalists: Anne Armstrong, Dumfries & Galloway Life, CN Group Magazines; Adam Forrest, The Big Issue Scotland, The Big Issue; Kirstin Innes, The List, The List; Jackie Macadam, Life & Work, Church of Scotland; and Cameron McNeish, The Great Outdoors, Newsquest (Herald & Times).
Member magazine of the year
Winner: Historic Scotland, Think Scotland
Finalists: Life & Work, Church of Scotland; Scotland in Trust, CMYK Design; Scottish Seabird Centre Members’ Magazine, The Scottish Seabird Centre; Surgeons’ News, CMYK Design; and Unfiltered, Connect Communications.
Publisher of the year
Winner: John Innes, Think Scotland
Finalists: Antony Begley, 55 North; Darren Bruce, Newsquest (Herald & Times); Steve Craven, Craven Publishing; Paul Grant, PSP Publishing.
Sales performance of the year
Winner: The Beano, The Lego Project, DC Thomson
Finalists: Susan Dignon, Scottish Local Retailer, 55 North; Allan Fleming, Able, Craven Publishing; Heather McLaughlin & Rosaleen Shine, ENT & Audiology News, Pinpoint Scotland; Sales team, AgriScot programme, The Scottish Farmer, Newsquest (Herald & Times); Sales team, Holyrood, Holyrood Communications; and Sales team, Renewable Energy, The Scottish Farmer, Newsquest (Herald & Times).
Staff magazine of the year
Winner: The Exova Magazine, White Light Media
Finalists: Standard, Standard Life; and tbn, Team Brief Newsletter, Taste Design.
