We are pleased to announce that entries for the NENPA New England Newspaper Awards Program will open next week. This year, in addition to our long-standing honors recognizing editorial excellence, transparency, and public service, we are introducing an exciting new series of awards—the NENPA A-Mark Awards for Investigative Journalism, which will provide up to $90,000 in monetary awards to journalists and newsrooms.
All awards will be presented at the 2025 Fall Leadership Conference in Northampton, MA, on September 25-26, 2025, at the Hotel Northampton.
Newspaper of the Year Awards:
New England Newspaper of the Year
Celebrates overall excellence in reporting, design, photography, and public service. Judged holistically across all areas of newspaper production.
Publick Occurrences Awards
Honors journalistic work that has made a profound impact on the public or initiated important civic discussions, echoing the spirit of America’s first newspaper.
Allan B. Rogers Editorial Award
Recognizes editorial writing that makes a compelling, reasoned argument and contributes to the editorial voice of a publication.
New England First Amendment Award
Presented to individuals or organizations that champion freedom of the press and the public’s right to know, often at great personal or institutional risk.
AP Sevellon Brown New England Journalist of the Year
Awarded to an individual journalist for outstanding reporting, ethics, and leadership in news coverage over the past year.
Bob Wallack Community Journalism Award
Highlights a story, series, or body of work that strengthens connections within a community and elevates local voices.
The Cornerstone Award
Recognizes extraordinary service to the newspaper industry through innovation, mentorship, advocacy, or long-term leadership.
New England Journalism Educator of the Year Award
Recognizes a professor at a university or college in the six-state region who is doing outstanding work to prepare journalists to lead our newspaper organizations into the future.
Introducing the A-Mark Awards for Investigative Journalism
New for 2025, NENPA is proud to launch the A-Mark Awards, a high-impact initiative to recognize and reward outstanding investigative journalism that:
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Reveals hidden truths
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Holds powerful institutions or individuals accountable
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Drives public awareness or catalyzes reform
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Explores complex problems through ambitious, well-researched reporting
Who’s Eligible:
- News media organizations and freelance journalists based in one of the six New England states whose primary medium is the written word.
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Work must have been published in print and/or online during the upcoming contest period
Prize Structure for each New England state:
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1st Place: $5,000 to journalist(s), $2,500 to the news outlet
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2nd Place: $3,000 to journalist(s), $1,500 to the outlet
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3rd Place: $2,000 to journalist(s), $1,000 to the outlet
This competition is open to both member and non-member newspapers and
online news publications. All Publick Occurrences and First Amendment submissions will automatically be entered for A-Mark Prize consideration.
Newsrooms and journalists across New England are encouraged to prepare their best work for submission. With award categories spanning editorial, investigative, and community-focused work, the NENPA New England Newspaper Awards remain a cornerstone for celebrating journalism’s most important mission: serving the public.
Entries for all awards will open next week. Stay tuned for updates and guidelines.