Ashburn Magazine won 19 awards, including eight first-place honors, in the 2022 Virginia Press Association contest for editorial and advertising excellence.
Of the awards, 11 were for editorial work, including photography and illustrations, while eight were for advertisements that appeared in the magazine last year. The awards were presented during a banquet May 6 at the VPA’s annual conference in Richmond.
Ashburn Magazine competes in the specialty division, against other publications across Virginia that are not daily or weekly newspapers. Other competitors in the division include the Washington Business Journal, Virginia Business Magazine and Richmond Magazine. Based on a points system for the awards (three points for each first place, two for second-places and one for third-places), Ashburn Magazine finished second in the news, advertising and overall sweepstakes categories to Richmond Magazine.
Ashburn Magazine’s first-place award winners were:
- Jill Devine, Feature Story Writing category, for “200 Days, 2,193 Miles”
- Jill Devine, Feature Writing Portfolio, for a portfolio of her work
- Kara Thorpe, Informational Graphics, for “Trailing an Assassin”
- Astri Wee, Pictorial Photo, for a photo of a Little Free Library
- Bruce Potter, Headline Writing, for a body of his work
- Connie Fields and Creative Staff, Fashion and Personal Care advertising, for an ad for Hair Story By Serap
- Judy Harbin and Nicky Marshok, Home and Garden advertising, for an ad for JP Handyman
- Judy Harbin and Nicky Marshok, Professional Services advertising, for an ad for Animal Medical Centers of Loudoun
The magazine’s five second-place awards were:
- Jill Devine and Astri Wee, Combination Picture and Story, for a feature and photos on Little Free Libraries
- Astri Wee, Feature Photo, for a photo of Kailee Horvath
- Judy Harbin and Nicky Marshok, Food and Drug advertising, for an ad for Parallel Wine & Whiskey Bar
- Judy Harbin and Nicky Marshok, Home and Garden advertising, for an ad for K&H Landscape and Grounds Maintenance
- Connie Fields and Creative Staff, Real Estate advertising, for an ad for Remax
And the magazine received six third-place prizes:
- Kara Thorpe and Chris Wadsworth, Front Page or Front Cover, for a selection of three covers from 2022
- Astri Wee, Personality or Portrait Photo, for a photo of Andrew Hoyler
- Jill Devine, Feature Story Writing, for “The Axe Factor”
- Chris Wadsworth, Food Writing, for “Gator Bites”
- Connie Fields and Creative Staff, Food and Drug advertising, for an ad for McAlister’s Deli
- Judy Harbin and Nicky Marshok, Professional Services advertising, for an ad for Lans Family Dentistry
Ashburn Magazine’s sister publications also fared well in the 2022 competition:
- InsideNoVa/Prince William, a weekly paper, won the top news award among all large daily papers, as well as a Best-in-Show for design and presentation and 30 other awards, including 12 first-places.
- The Rappahannock News, a weekly paper competing in a smaller circulation category, received 30 awards, including 14 first-places, the news sweepstakes award in its category and a Best-in-Show for online video.
- The Culpeper Times, a bi-weekly newspaper, received eight awards, including four first-places.
- FauquierNow, a website covering Fauquier County, received four awards in the online division, including one first-place.
The publications are all owned by Rappahannock Media LLC, based in Washington, Va.