The Manchester Cricket was awarded for excellence in feature writing last week by the National Newspaper Association (NNA), taking home four awards including two first place wins for feature writing in 2021.
The winners were formally announced on Saturday, October 8, at the NNAF’s 136th Annual Convention in San Francisco. In all, there were 1,333 entries in the Better Newspaper Editorial Contest and 228 entries in the Better Newspaper Advertising Contest for a total of 1,561 entries.
There were 586 awards won by 92 newspapers in 40 states. Judging was performed primarily by active community newspaper editors and publishers, as well as retired university journalism professors and retired or former newspaper professionals.
Of all the work the Cricket completed in 2021, it was the paper’s feature writing that stood out, with all four awards tied to features focusing on different subjects—a fine artist, a wood carver, a series on historical local figures, and a local reality television duo.
Erika Brown won first place for Best Review among all newspapers weekly or non-weekly across all circulations for “Step By Step: Farmhouse Fixer,” on the debut of the locally-produced HGTV renovation show hosted by Essex’s Jonathan Knight with interior designer Kristen, who also lives in Essex and runs her interior design studio in downtown Manchester. Jonathan Knight is the show’s main personality who brings decades of renovation experience to local projects and the show weaves Knight’s personal life into the show—including his life as a member of the 1990s boyband, New Kids on the Block and his home life on an Essex farm with his husband, Harley and their extended family.
The other first place win for Best Feature Profile among non-daily newspapers under 4,000 in circulation went to Oliva “Oli” Turner for “Bob Brophy: Local Legend.” Turner’s story focused on an Essex wood carver who has created more than 3,000 intricate duck decoys and taught his craft to actor Daniel Day-Lewis during the filming of The Crucible. Brophy also collects rare duck hunting boats called “Jappa Floats” that were made in the 1940s. Turner, a journalism major at Emory University in Atlanta, worked at the Cricket for two summers and it is notable that this award is not in a “student” category but rather a general feature category open to all writers.
Kris McGinn, features editor at The Cricket won third place for her feature on Essex fine artist Thaddius Beale. And, finally, Kory Curcuru and Erika Brown also took third place for Best Feature Series for “Timeline Cape Ann,” a print collaboration of Curcuru’s history series for 1623 Studios that included features on Manchester’s Abigail Trask, the Booth Family’s Masconomo Hotel, and the wild story of the 1936 Magnolia Jewel Heist.
Established in 1885, the National Newspaper Association is the voice of America’s community newspapers and is the one of the largest newspaper associations in the country.
