Search

Newsletters
Supporting Members

Payment Pages

2011 Award Winners

Winners in OWAC's 2011 Craft Contest were announced at the spring conference in Lake County. All winning work was published during the 2010 calendar year. San Francisco Chronicle Outdoors Columnist Tom Stienstra chaired the awards program.

Newspaper Feature

A feature is a piece of writing that covers in depth a selected issue, person or event and usually focuses on the human-interest elements of a situation, event or adventure.

Newspaper Column

A column is a piece of writing that gives the writer's perspective or opinion, such as an essay or first-person report, often on an issue of the day.

Magazine Feature

A feature is a piece of writing that covers in depth a selected issue, person or event and usually focuses on the human-interest elements of a situation, event or adventure.

  • 1st: Tony Peña, "Travel Safety"
  • 2nd (tie): Lee Allen, "The Ultimate Ungulate—Deer Rule!"
  • 2nd (tie): Paul Lebowitz, "The Sure Thing"
  • 2nd (tie): Wynne Benti, "Land of Legends"

Magazine Column

A column is a piece of writing that gives the writer's perspective or opinion, such as an essay or first-person report, often on an issue of the day.

  • 1st: Mike McKenna, "The Old Men and the Lake"
  • 2nd: Tom Martens, "Issue of Access"
  • 3rd: Mike McKenna, "Angling for Perfection"

News Report in Any Medium

A news report is a straight account, without spin and free of all faction, where the reporter delivers information with verifiable attribution.

Series of Articles

A series of articles is a formal collection of stories, numbered Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, etc., with thematic unity from start to finish and published consecutively.

Newsletter

A newsletter is a printed report, often in booklet form, that provides news or information of interest to a specific group.

  • 1st: Rick Copeland, "Wilderness Unlimited"
  • 2nd: Fred Jones, "Chubasco, July/August 2010"

Book (other than travel or guidebook)

This award is specifically designed for outdoor books that are not guidebooks or travel books, such as memoirs, fiction and photography books.

  • 1st: Sue Watkins, Getting Involved! A Guide to Hunting and Conservation for Kids

Guidebook or Travel Book

A guidebook or travel book provides details of a geographic area or a skill, often both, and is published with the intent to be the ultimate source of information for that geographic area or skill.

  • 1st: Robert Stone, Day Hikes in and around Los Angeles
  • 2nd: Robert Stone, Day Hikes in and around Santa Barbara
  • 3rd: Thomas Wilmer, The Wine Seeker's Guide to Livermore Valley

Feature Photo

A feature photo covers a select issue, person or place, and usually focuses on the human-interest elements of a situation, event or place.

  • 1st: Chris Collard, "Okavango Rock Monitor"
  • 2nd: Chris Collard, "Fishermen on Lake Kariba, Zambia"
  • 3rd: J.J. Mays, "Shared Passion"

Action Photo

An action photo captures a moment in time, a real-life event that cannot be duplicated.

  • 1st: Chris Collard, "Don't Mess with Me" 
  • 2nd: Meade Fischer, "Mossy Surf Action"
  • 3rd (tie): Gary Graham, "Giant Marlin, Big Bucks"
  • 3rd (tie): John Beath, "Diving Eagle"

Series of Photos

A series of photos is a formal collection of photographs with thematic unity from start to finish and published consecutively.

  • 1st: Chris Collard, "Camping on the Okavango Delta"
  • 2nd: Tony Peña, "Panama Crush"
  • 3rd: John Beath,"Eagles Catch Fish Too"

Radio Show

One-hour or a collection of shorter features.

Fiction

No award this year.

TV Show or Video

  • 1st: Tom Raftican, "Reel World"
  • 2nd: Kathy Mattoon, "Catfishing Winter Secrets"
  • 3rd: Andy Lightbody, "An American Historian"

Website

Web-only Article

John Reginato Conservation Award

The John Reginato Conservation Award is named after the co-founder of OWAC and honors work that exemplifies John Reginato's life-long passion to restore and conserve fish or wildlife resources damaged from neglect.

Phil Ford Humor Award

The Phil Ford Humor Award is named after an OWAC charter member and honors work that exemplifies Phil Ford's ability to capture the outdoor world with a wink and a grin that so often accompanied his telling of an experience in the field.

  • Kathie Morgan, "Squid-Cooking Calculus"

Best Freelance Work

  • 1st: Chris Collard, "Camping on the Okavango Delta"
  • 2nd: Carrie Wilson, "Injured Women Veterans Celebrated with Pig Hunt"
  • 3rd: Lee Allen, "The Ultimate Ungulate — Deer Rule"

Best Conference-related Work

Conference-related work is any work derived from experience at an OWAC conference.

  • 1st: Barbara Steinberg, "Embracing the Bounty of the Land"
  • 2nd: Jack Holder, "When in Baja, Look for the Pirates"
  • 3rd: Barbara Steinberg, "Chow Down above 8,000 Feet"

* OWAC Outdoor Writer of the Year

  • Chris Collard