Arizona Highways was a big winner at Monday night's annual International Regional Magazine Association (IRMA) awards dinner in San Diego, picking up 16 awards, including seven golds, for items published in 2014.
John Burcham's Long Exposure, a September 2014 portfolio for which Burcham photographed Bismarck Lake near Flagstaff for an entire year, won gold in the Photo Series category. Editor Robert Stieve took home a gold award for that portfolio's headline, and Burcham won silver in the Photographer of the Year competition.
Our other 2014 gold winners were our January cover, which featured a shot from the Vermilion Cliffs; Jack Unruh's illustration of a jaguar (April); Charles Bowden's Counting Sheep (February), an essay about bighorn reintroductions in the Santa Catalina Mountains; Joel Grimes' portrait of a rodeo announcer (August); and Matt Jaffe's Two Men and a Truck (November), a travelogue from the Navajo Nation.
In all, Arizona Highways' 16 total awards were the second-most in the competition, behind only Texas Highways' 17. Our seven golds were tied for the most with Down East: The Magazine of Maine. Additionally, our publisher, Win Holden, received the IRMA Lifetime Achievement Award.
IRMA was founded in 1960. Its purpose is to support and promote regional magazines in the United States and elsewhere.
We're very proud of all our winners. Congratulations! The full list of Arizona Highways winners is below.
Gold Awards
Nature & Environment: Counting Sheep, Charles Bowden, February 2014
Travel Feature: Two Men and a Truck, Matt Jaffe, November 2014
Head and Deck: Long Exposure, Robert Stieve, September 2014
Photo Series: Long Exposure, John Burcham, September 2014
Portrait Photo: Rodeo announcer (The Journal), Joel Grimes, August 2014
Illustration: Jaguar (Spotted in Southern Arizona), Jack Unruh, April 2014
Cover: Vermilion Cliffs, Barbara Glynn Denney, January 2014
Silver Awards
Public Issues: The Verde, Terry Greene Sterling, March 2014
Single Photo: Monument Valley (A Picture's Worth ... Eh, Let's Skip the Words), Enio Lanaro, April 2014
Magazine Photographer of the Year: John Burcham
Department: The Journal, Arizona Highways Staff
Special Focus: Winter issue, December 2014
Companion Website: Arizona Highways Staff
Awards of Merit
Service Article: On the Edge, Robert Stieve, July 2014
Essay: A Winter's Walk, Craig Childs, January 2014
Art Direction of a Single Story: French Impressions, Barbara Glynn Denney, Keith Whitney and Jeff Kida, August 2014