Alta Journal was recognized with 13 awards this year at the Los Angeles Press Club’s Southern California Journalism Awards, with five entries coming in first place. The event, now in its 66th year, was held Sunday evening at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles.
In top honors for criticism of books was Alta’s books editor, David L. Ulin, with examples of his work, “Blood Inheritance,” “The Turning Point,” and “The Hush Harbor.” Judges note, “The writer brings knowledge, familiarity, and a sense of enthusiastic fascination to the work. Regardless of whether or not the reviews make me want to read the books, they make me want to read more of the reviewer capturing the book in their own unique style.”
For Science Reporting, Denise Hamilton’s “P-22’s Life in L.A.” took home top honors. Judges observed a “bold and creative narrative choice that pays off with powerful storytelling. [We’ll] be thinking about this well-written story for a long time.”
John Goecke and Brent Hatcher won Best Issue for Alta Journal’s Issue 22, The Desert Issue.
The judges state: “Excellent use of photography throughout, strong environmental portraits mixed with a sense of place imagery. Nice mix of illustration and photography carries page layout & design. Broad representation of desert culture and important issues such as drought in the West.”
In first place for Lifestyle Features was Jeremy Lindenfeld’s “Bitter Medicine.” Judges applaud a “compelling lead; high interest/relevant topic; solid writing with colorful details that draw the reader into the story.”
Santi Elijah Holley secured a first-place win in Activism Journalism for the “The Cop Watcher.” The judges hail “a well researched and highly readable profile of an activist who seemed to stumble into the business of observing cops in action — and whose vigilantism is actually serving as a model for deterring racial profiling and bad cop behavior beyond L.A. The writer really captures the personality of the subject.”
Alta’s team took home second- and third-place nods for the following work:
- For Faith/Spiritual Reporting, “A Sacred Sycamore’s Story Reveals a City’s History” by D.J. Waldie took third place.
- “A Sacred Sycamore’s Story Reveals a City’s History” also took third place for illustrations by Chris Sickels and Red Nose Studio.
- “Accepting AI’s Inevitability” by Jim Lewis nabbed third place for Technology Reporting.
- In Science Reporting, Ajay Orona’s “The Grizzly Next Door” won second place.
- “A City of Dreams” by Stacey Grenrock Woods won third place in Humor/Satire Writing.
- “The Cop Watcher” by Santi Elijah Holley was once again mentioned for second place in Crime Reporting.
- “The Most Famous California Novel You’ve Never Heard Of” by Peter Fish took home second place for Culture/Arts Feature over 1,000 words.
- Talk/Public Affairs gave the second place spot to Alta Live by Beth Spotswood and Jessica Blough.
“We’re delighted to see Alta’s brilliant writers, designers, photographers, and illustrators receive these top honors from the Los Angeles Press Club,” says editorial director Blaise Zerega. “We’re thrilled to be in the company of so many talented journalists. Congratulations to all the winners!”
The final results of the event may be found here.•
Will Garrett, Alta Journal's 2024 summer intern, has written for Colorado College's Cipher magazine and the Catalyst newspaper.
