Best Student Writer

What is the Best Student Writer Award?

The National Magazine Award for Best Student Writer is awarded each year to a full-time student whose non-fiction or journalistic work in a Canadian consumer magazine or university/college magazine shows the highest degree of craft and promise.

Am I eligible for the Best Student Writer Award?

The applicant must:

• Be a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant;
• Have an original non-fiction piece published in a Canadian consumer magazine or Canadian university magazine within the calendar year 2008;
• Have been a full-time post-secondary student during 2008.

(Only one entry per person. For complete guidelines of eligibility and rules, see below)

All successful applications are adjudicated by a bilingual panel of three experts in the field of magazine writing and editing. The panel will come to a consensus on two Honourable Mention awards and one Winner.

What do I win?

The two Honourable Mention nominations will receive award certificates and two complimentary tickets to the 32nd annual National Magazine Awards gala in Toronto on June 5, 2009, where their nominated work will be on display.

The Winner of the Best Student Writer award will:

• Receive an award certificate;
• Receive a $1,000.00 award cheque;
• Receive two complimentary tickets to the awards gala on June 5, 2009 in Toronto;
• Have his or her work on display at the awards gala and promoted on the National Magazine Awards website;
• Receive his or her award on stage at the gala, recognized by the very best of the Canadian magazine industry.

How do I apply?

The deadline for applications is January 9, 2009. The application fee is $25. All successful applications must include the following:

• 1 original tear sheet of the submitted piece in its entirety;
• 3 photocopies of the submitted piece in its entirety (All photocopies should be 8 ½ x 11 where possible);
• 4 copies of a one-page cover letter including a brief bio, statement of career goals, and a description/context of how you came to write the piece;
• A cheque for $25 made out to the National Magazine Awards Foundation (OR you may pay online with a credit card via PayPal).
• An Entry form and Master Entry Form (these will be generated for you to print when you complete the online application process, which opens Dec 1).

Mail your applications to:

Best Student Writer Award

The National Magazine Awards Foundation

425 Adelaide St W, Suite 700, Toronto, ON, M5V 3C1

Please note: All applications must be RECEIVED IN THEIR ENTIRETY by January 9, 2009 at 5pm. Applications postmarked by January 9, 2009 but received later will NOT be accepted.

Announcement of Winner

The winner and honourable mentions will be announced at the annual nominees announcement party in April 2009 (exact date TBD). The winner will be recognized on stage at the 32nd annual National Magazine Awards gala on June 5, 2009.

Eligibility and Rules

Submissions for the National Magazine Award for Best Student Writer will be accepted until January 9, 2009 at 5 pm.

1. The National Magazine Award for Best Student Writer competition is open to Canadian citizens or landed immigrants who are registered as full-time students of a Canadian university or college (includes students who graduated in 2008 but not in 2007).
2. Entries in either French or English must be non-fiction and and have been printed during the 2008 calendar year in a Canadian consumer magazine (with a frequency of at least twice a year) or a student- or university-published magazine (with a frequency of at least once a year).
3. Work from online publications is not admissible.
4. Original work, which appears in the December 2008 - January 2009 issue of a bi-monthly magazine is eligible, but not that which appeared in a December 2007 - January 2008 issue. A single issue (not part of a series) dated January 2009 (even if it appears on the newsstand in December 2008) is not eligible for submission. In all other cases, an entry from an issue with a cover date other than 2008 will NOT be accepted.
5. Written entries displaying advertorial and/or promotional content will be ruled inadmissible.
6. Excerpts, serializations or condensations from books or books in progress are inadmissible - except when the writer's work originated as a magazine assignment and was primarily financed by the magazine and edited as the magazine's own copy.
7. Only one article per writer may be entered. However, there is no maximum number of entries by a publication or institution.
8. Entries will not be returned.
9. The Foundation reserves the right to use the entries of finalists in the Awards presentation program/exhibit/website but not for sale or profit.
10. The decision of the judges will be final.

Julia Belluz is a recent graduate of The Ryerson University School of Journalism, where she edited the Ryerson Review of Journalism and McClung's magazine. During school, she worked part-time (most notably at The Canadian Press and Azure magazine) and published articles in various university and national publications. She moved to the U.K. last September to complete a master's degree in social anthropology at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Her studies are subsidized by the Gordon Sinclair Journalism Fellowship, which is awarded to one young Canadian journalist every year. She plans to make a living by writing.   Julia’s winning article, titled “I” (Ryerson Review of Journalism, Spring 2007), is a touching profile of Ian Brown.

2006

Winner: Buffy Cram, "Man Hands," Prairie Fire

Honourable Mentions: 

Joe Castaldo, "Whyte Noise," Ryerson Review of Journalism 

Erin Morrison, "To Dance," the Crow

2005

Winner: Leigh Doyle, "So Long," Ryerson Review of Journalism

Honourable Mentions: 

Keren Ritchie, "Rough, Tough & Ready to Rumble," Ryerson Review of Journalism

Ben Sainsbury, "Houdini, Get Me Out Of This!" NOW Magazine

For more information, please contact us at staff@magazine-awards.com or 416.422.1358.