Magazine Writer of the Year 30,000 or more APR

Gold

Arkansas Life, “Thick and Thin; Quite Wright; Up for Hours; Out of the Ordinary; The Last Trading Posts “ by Mariam Makatsaria

What an accomplished, powerful writer. Makatsaria brings her subject matter to life with beautiful descriptive imagery and a whole lot of skill. Her subject matter is compelling; I found myself wanting to read more so that I could know more. Incredibly astute at evoking both feelings and a sense of place, Makatsaria has the ability to get to the heart of the matter. Not only that, she’s an inventive and imaginative writer. Such style! With her unique turns of phrase, reading Makatsaria’s work keeps me glued to the page.

Gold

Arizona Highways, “Thick and Thin; Quite Wright; Up for Hours; Out of the Ordinary; The Last Trading Posts “ by Matt Jaffe

Jaffe paints an evocative picture of every subject he writes about. The content is compelling, the features are excellently structured and the approach, authentic. I found the subject matter extremely interesting; I was drawn into the stories while always learning something new. Jaffe’s work is also exciting to read. He has an ability to set the scene with both concrete detail and a lyrical writing style. He’s a lovely storyteller; he digs for great anecdotes from sources and writes excellent kickers.

Silver

New Mexico Magazine, “David Pike”

Pike’s subject matter is so interesting. He’s skilled at writing imaginative, slice-of-life stories. Pike’s articles are extensively researched; he truly seems to be an expert in all things small town New Mexico. He shares his expertise beautifully with readers in stories that are unusually compelling.