Marian Helper is Award Winning

At its annual media convention - held this year from May 23- 25 in Brooklyn, N.Y. - the Catholic Press Association announced that Marian Helper magazine won three awards in its 2007 awards competition that drew more than 3,000 submissions from various Catholic publications.

The magazine - which is the flagship publication of the Association of Marian Helpers headquartered in Stockbridge, Mass. - won "First Place" in the category of "General Excellence" for "Religious Order magazines." It was the second consecutive year that the magazine placed first in this category, which recognizes overall excellence in both the design and editorial content of publications.

The Association is a spiritual benefit society of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception. As the Association's official magazine, Marian Helper reports on news of the Marians around the world and seeks to promote The Divine Mercy message and devotion, as well as devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

In evaluating the magazine's issues submitted from 2006, the judges noted: "This magazine, more than others in the category, gets the importance of a strong cover to pull readers inside the publication. The most striking example is the Summer 2006 issue, which titillates the readers with a priest in front of an image of Christ and the main cover blurb: 'Is this image in your home? Marian priest tells why it should be.' Additionally, the cover of Marian Helper also serves up many more reader entry points by offering an array of secondary cover headlines on other topics."

The judges continued: "Once inside the magazine, readers find a publication that is interactive and that builds a sense of community - a quite robust 'Father Joseph's Mailbox' with many reader leaders, and the 'Ask a Marian' Q and A column. Marian Helper is built on classic magazine architecture, with shorter and sometimes nuggety departments at the front and rear of the book, and longer features in between. The more in-depth feature stories are well written and approachable, with text broken up through the use of subheads, pull quotes and sidebars. Overall, a quite engaging and helpful magazine,"

Marian Helper also garnered a "Second Place" finish in the category of "Best feature article" for "Religious Order magazines." The article entitled "Open wide and say Ah-men" was written by Felix Carroll for the Winter 2006-7 issue. The judges noted: "Clever lead, good storytelling and transitions. This is very clever and lively writing that draws the reader in."

In the same category, Marian Helper received "Honorable Mention" for an article entitled "A mother's story of Mercy's healing power" by Joley Billa, whose story appeared in the Spring 2006 issue

During 2006, the year under review, Fr. Seraphim Michalenko, MIC, was the publisher; David Came, the executive editor; Theresa Peloquin, the managing editor/designer; and Felix Carroll, the senior editor. Catherine M. LeVesque also contributed by designing ads. While the Winter 2006-7 issue was in production, Dan Valenti came on board as the new senior editor/writer, while Felix Carroll continued to contribute as the writer/photographer.

Receive a free copy of Marian Helper magazine.

You might also like...

The United States of America will be reconsecrated to Mary, Mother of the Church, by the U.S. bishops on May 1. The faithful who may join in by tuning into the USCCB’s social media platforms.

Healthcare Professionals for Divine Mercy prepare for another groundbreaking conference.

By the grace of God, we now add "MIC" to the names James Devine and Nicholas Medley.