HONOLULU Magazine Wins 12 Local and National Awards for 2024
We’re honored to take home awards from the Society of Professional Journalists Hawai‘i Chapter and the City and Regional Magazine Association for work we published last year.
Photo: Courtesy of Katrina Valcourt
Every year, we at HONOLULU Magazine enter some of our work in local and national competitions run by organizations of which we are members. The City and Regional Magazine Association held its annual conference and awards in Denver, Colorado, this past June, naming HONOLULU a finalist in two categories for work we published in 2024. On July 30, winners of the annual Hawai‘i Society of Professional Journalists Excellence in Journalism contest were announced at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i, and HONOLULU took home 10 awards.
Whether from a national contest or a local one, the awards we receive are based on judging by our peers. Our small team strives to tell stories we’re passionate about sharing, and we love what we do. We hope you love it, too. Please join us in celebrating what the judges deemed some of our best work last year by revisiting these stories below.
40th Annual National City and Regional Magazine Awards
CRMA is a national association with 63 members, from Washington state to Washington, D.C. Awards were judged by representatives from more than 100 media outlets and publications.
Food or Dining Feature Package
Martha Cheng, Mari Taketa, Christi Young Tomisato, Aaron K. Yoshino and James Nakamura took home a finalist award for The New Guide to Chinese Food in this category, comparing the work of other magazines with a similar circulation size. The award takes both writing and design into account. The judges said: “Cuisines of the ‘Middle Kingdom’ have never really gotten their due. This package goes some way toward rectifying that. The descriptions educate and the photos also pop with energy, working together to inspire a powerful culinary wanderlust.” Read it here.
General Excellence
We submitted our April, October and November issues for consideration in this category and received a finalist award among other magazines with a similar circulation size. Judges said: “Inventive and zeitgeisty, HONOLULU Magazine understands what it means to inform a one-of-a-kind city and its people. Packed with dynamic stories, immersive imagery and smart synthesis, it both honors O‘ahu’s cultural heritage and contextualizes its fast evolving present.”
Hawai‘i Professional Chapter SPJ Excellence in Journalism
Submissions were judged by our SPJ counterparts in Louisville, Kentucky (whose awards we judged in turn).
Magazines
Industry or Trade Reporting
Second Place: Food & dining coverage, by Mari Taketa
Judge’s comments: “This writer is wildly talented in the way they put me into the local food scene. I enjoyed the mix of long and short pieces and really could feel the connection to the food. I was left hungry and inspired by this entry.”
Feature Writing/Long Form
Third Place: We’ve Got Seoul, by Diane Seo, October 2024
Judge’s comments: “This category had so many robust entries. I wish there were more places to award!”
Overall Page Design
Second Place: Design by James Nakamura and Christine Labrador
Best Single Feature Layout
Second Place: She’s a Force, by Christine Labrador, James Nakamura, Brie Thalmann and IJfke Ridgley, March 2024
Magazine Cover
Third Place: The New Guide to Chinese Food, by James Nakamura and Aaron K. Yoshino, April 2024
Judge’s comments: “Made me hungry. If I saw this cover, I would pick up the magazine immediately.”
News Media
Column Writing or Blog/Features or Sports
Third Place: Afterthoughts
- Misnomer, by Katrina Valcourt, February 2024
- Skin Deep, by James Nakamura, March 2024
- Lucky We Live Hawai‘i, by Katrina Valcourt, April 2024
- Green Gold, by Mari Taketa, July/August 2024
- Tracking My Blessings, by Katrina Valcourt, October 2024
Health Reporting
Second Place: Let’s Talk About Menopause, by Mary Vorsino, October 2024
Editorial Cartoon/Illustration
First Place: How We Live Now, by James Nakamura, May 2024
Judge’s comments: “This is vibrant and tells so many stories in each ‘box’ of the artwork. From the solar panels, to the bowling alley, to people living their everyday lives—this art is thoughtful and well executed.”
Third Place: Health Is Wealth, by James Nakamura, November 2024
Feature Photography/Videography
Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino
Second Place: The New Guide to Chinese Food, by Aaron K. Yoshino, April 2024
Judge’s comments: “Strong detail shots. Well composed and well-lit. This is a great series and each shot is filled with interesting elements.”
Congratulations are also due for our sister magazine, Hawai‘i Business Magazine, which took home 19 SPJ awards. For the full list of winners, visit hawaiispj.org.
Katrina Valcourt is the executive editor of HONOLULU Magazine.
