The York University Magazine has won eight awards – a record number for the publication – as part of the 15th annual Canadian Online Publishing Awards (COPAs), the largest digital publishing award program in Canada. It’s only the latest success in its award-winning journey.

“This is a great recognition for what we strive to achieve in every issue of The York University Magazine – quality storytelling combined with dynamic visuals that inspire and instil pride in members of the York University community,” says the publication’s editor, Deirdre Kelly.

Going into the announcements of winners, the magazine had earned eight nominations in submitted categories. It won six of those nominations, including – for the fourth year in a row – the top prize, Best Digital Edition Publication, for the Summer 2023 issue.  

The magazine also won gold for Best Feel Good Story (“Hope in a Bag”) and Best Industry Feature (“Bad Trip”), as well as three silver awards for Best B2B Website, Best Investigative Feature (“Analog Revolution”) and Best Company Feature (“Right Side Up”).

For the 2022 awards, the COPAs also introduced a Top 10 ranking that recognizes entries that received the highest scores from the judging panel. Last year, The York University Magazine earned fourth place for its Best Digital Publication win. This year, not only did it earn the first-place spot for its win in that category, but the Best Feel Good Story winner, “Hope in a Bag,” received the ninth highest rating.

“We're thrilled that our winning content has also merited the No. 1 spot on the judges’ Top 10 list of all nominees from across the country, as it validates the work we do when spotlighting excellence at York,” says Kelly.

The magazine’s success at the COPAs adds to its recent award-winning momentum. Since Kelly became editor of the magazine in 2018, following a redesign of the publication overseen by James Nixon, senior graphic designer and art director, The York University Magazine has won 22 COPAs.

In the past year alone, Kelly won a National Magazine Award for “Forward Focus,” her 2022 cover story profile of Kaleb Dahlgren, and the publication garnered five Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Awards.

Kelly credits the magazine’s success to the originality of its stories, as well as Nixon’s proprietary in-house design, which helps bring them to visual life.

The latest issue of The York University Magazine can be read now.