CRMA 2025 Fort Worth Magazine
Finalists from Fort Worth Magazine include cover excellence, feature writing, profile writing, and leisure/lifestyle/interest feature package
Every year, usually soon after the dust settles from the Academy Awards, the City and Regional Magazine Association (CRMA) — a trade organization of 72 publications, including yours truly — announces finalists for its annual CRMA Awards.
For us city and regional magazine folk, the CRMA Awards are like the Oscars — albeit minus the cadre of A-list celebrities, glossy dance numbers, and open-handed face slaps, among other things. The awards involve publications from across the country submitting their best editorial from the previous year as they compete in 36 categories that run the gamut of writing, design, and general excellence.
So, in an act of self-inflicted back patting, we are very proud to report that, this year, Fort Worth Magazine has been selected as a finalist in four categories within our circulation size. These include feature writing for “A Tragedy Revisited” by Malcolm Mayhew; profile writing for “How to Survive a Night Out With a Rock Star” by Brian Kendall; cover excellence for our January, February, and June issues; and leisure/lifestyle/interests feature package for “Lock, Stock Show, and Rodeo,” which includes illustration work by Lauren Deitzer.
To jog your memory, “A Tragedy Revisited” is a feature in the magazine’s September issue. The story, an oral history of the 1999 Wedgwood Baptist Church shooting, carefully and tastefully guides readers through the events of the day and the tragedy’s lasting impact on the community. “How to Survive a Night Out With a Rock Star,” meanwhile, is a profile on musician Koe Wetzel that also served as our June cover story.
The three covers from January, February, and June — CRMA judges the covers collectively — exhibit a wide range of topics (the rodeo, the Californication of Fort Worth, and a famous country musician). The June cover featuring Koe Wetzel halfway submerged in a pool showcases photography by Crystal Wise, who is coming off a nod for photo essay (“9 Muses of Western Art”) from last year’s awards. And the January and February covers include design and artwork by Lauren Deitzer with January also featuring photography by Click Thompson. Craig Sylva served as the creative director for all covers.
The January rodeo feature, “Lock, Stock Show, and Rodeo,” written by Shilo Urban and Brian Kendall, is a finalist for leisure/lifestyle/interest feature package and includes illustrations by Lauren Deitzer, photography by Click Thompson and Crystal Wise, and design by Craig Sylva.
But we weren’t the only Texas publication to receive nods from CRMA. D Magazine and Texas Highways received 10 finalist selections each, and Texas Monthly enters the awards ceremony having received more selections than any other publication: 24. Houstonia Magazine notched three finalist selections.
Others receiving multiple kudos include Boston Magazine, Philadelphia Magazine, 5280, Portland Monthly, Washingtonian, Chicago Magazine, Baltimore Magazine, Seattle Met, St. Louis Magazine, and Milwaukee Magazine.
According to a press release from CRMA, more than 100 judges selected the finalists, which includes representatives from publications and media outlets such as The Atlantic, Better Homes & Gardens, Bloomberg Business Week, Elle Magazine, Food & Wine Magazine, Forbes, Garden & Gun, Hearst Magazines, Men’s Health, National Geographic Magazine, The New Yorker, The New York Times, Time Magazine, and many others.
Winners will be announced at the CRMA Awards ceremony, which is set to take place June 6 at the Hilton City Center in Denver.
