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Forgive us a moment of self-congratulation.
This weekend, Willamette Week took home eight prizes at the 2018 Association of Alternative Newsmedia Awards, including three first-place awards for arts criticism, photography and special section.
The annual contest drew from a field of nearly 700 entries submitted by 55 publications nationwide.
Visual Arts Editor Shannon Gormley won first place in the Arts Criticism category for a trio of reviews covering an art exhibit by Portland drag performer Carla Rossi, Artist Repertory Theater's satirical take on the 19th century melodrama An Octoroon and a group art show at last year's Time Based Art Festival.
Daniel Stindt took home a first-place prize for Best Photography. His prize-winning photographs captured a dramatic swath of Portland life: political brawls on the waterfront, discarded heroin needles, people living in so-called "zombie RVS," the fire-scorched Columbia River Gorge, and Iggy Pop.
For the second year in a row, WW's Going Coastal magazine, our guide to the Oregon Coast, topped the Special Section category. Former Arts & Culture Editor Martin Cizmar edited the issue, which featured contributions from Sophia June, Matthew Korfhage, Walker Macmurdo, Aaron Mesh, Andi Prewitt and Matthew Singer.
Staff writer Nigel Jaquiss took second prize for Investigative Reporting, for his feature on Portland woman Kim Bradley. Bradley's story of surviving 30 years of domestic abuse in the West Hills led the Oregon Legislature this year to strengthen state laws that protect victims of strangulation.
Staff writer Rachel Monahan won second prize for Immigration Reporting. Her cover story "Where is Daddy?" examined the plight of children born in the United States whose undocumented parents are placed in deportation proceedings.
Elsewhere, Matthew Korfhage was awarded second-place in the Arts Feature category for "The Dream of Portland Is Alive in Japan," in which he traveled to Tokyo to investigate Japan's curious obsession with Portland culture. Former Music Editor and current Arts & Culture Editor Matthew Singer was also the first runner-up in the Music Writing category, while a trio of covers, from artists Vicente Marti, Rachel Brown Smith and Vanessa Rivera, placed third in the Cover Design category.
