This year, the Magazine Publishers Association’s [MPA] iconic New Zealand Magazine Awards is undergoing a range of changes, including new categories, a different judging strategy, a more simplified entry process, and a new name: the Magazine Media Awards.
MPA executive director Pip Elliott says the awards have been set up to inspire excellence. Along with the updated name, she says the 44 award categories "reflect the ever-evolving role of magazines and the diversity of magazine media offerings.”
"We've run a successful awards programme for many years, but what we wanted to do was recognise different categories and the diversity of our business. The trade, niche and business titles serve very important roles to their audiences, so we wanted to separate those categories out to see what's in those groups."
To ensure the industry awards have an impact after the actual ceremony, entrants will now be made aware of what the awards are being judged on, and feedback will be also given by the judges. This will help entrants to gain knowledge and learn something from the process.
Elliot says the entry process has also been made simpler in an effort to get "those nuggets of gold" from the industry. The member response to the changes has been positive so far.
All award categories, entry forms and criteria can be found on the MPA website. The deadline for entry is Friday, July 3, 2015 at 4pm. Finalists will be announced in early August, with tickets for the awards ceremony going on sale at the same time.
