Parenting Publications of America Awards

Bay Area Parent took home five awards from this year's PPA conference, ranging from design to the monthly editor's note. Here are the winners:

Front Cover Design

Silver: Bay Area Parent: Peninsula/San Francisco/Marin, "August 2010," Kimberly Hernando, photographer; Amanda Hawkins, senior graphic designer; Peggy Spear, editor

What the Judges Said:

The intense expression on the boy's face is the focus of this cover photograph. The lines in his guitar, clothes, hands and tilted head give energy to the image, which is fitting for the subject. The excellent background light frames the boy.

Editor's Note

Gold: Bay Area Parent: Silicon Valley; Jill Wolfson, writer/editor

What the Judges Said:

Expressing a genuine concern for all things related to parenting and family, this writing's voice and tone are its key strengths. Those attributes buttress the strong storytelling component, one generated by attention to narrative, structure and description.

Bronze: Bay Area Parent: East Bay; Peggy Spear, editor

What the Judges Said:

Parenting is such a complex endeavor, and this editor's notes focus readers on the unique attributes it requires. Nicely narrated personal stories generate a warm introduction to the magazine.

Ancillary Overall Writing

Gold: Bay Area Parent: Silicon Valley; (Childcare & Preschool finder), Christine Foster, Jill Wolfson and Sara Solovitch, editors

What the Judges Said:

This special publication finds the perfect balance of nuts-and-bolts resources and engaging, original articles about the challenges of finding the right environment for preschoolers. Throughout, the content acknowledges how the "high achievement" culture of the publication's circulation area affects and informs parents' decision-making, while giving parents lots of helpful tips about letting kids be kids. It's the right tone for the most useful kind of parent resource.

Bronze: Bay Area Parent: (b.a.b.y.) Millicent Skiles, ancillary editor; Peggy Spear and Jill Wolfson, editors; Janine DeFao, Christine Foster and Sara Solovitch, associate editors

What the Judges Said:

Newborn care, correct car seat placement, a map of hospitals and medical centers in the bay area — those are some of the fundamentals this publication covers. What surely endeared it to future moms and those expecting for the second or third time is its emphasis on what moms need, including a guide to nursing bras and a feature that reminds women about the little things they can forget in those first days home with a new baby.