The Manitoba Magazine Publishers Association (MMPA) will hand out the first-ever “Maggie” awards at a gala dinner at Winnipeg's Fairmont Hotel on May 8. “We thought it was time we started celebrating our own,” says Betty Ann Watts, executive director of the MMPA.

The awards will take place as part of Learnin the Moves, a series of seminars that will take place during the day on May 8 and May 9 at the Fairmont.

The Maggies are open to all Manitoba magazines. The categories are:

• Magazine of the Year
• Most Innovative Marketing Initiative (promotional campaign, special project, direct mail campaign, free standing insert etc.)
• Most Effective Web Activity
• Best Initiative (special events, trade shows, seminars, reading series, contests etc.)
• Best Cover - photography or illustration
• Most Effective use of Words (poetry/short fiction)
• Best Editorial Package
• Best regular column or department.

"We have a peoples' choice componet to the Mag of the Year award," Watts notes. "Entries will be posted on our website and the public, egged on by the publishers we suspect, will cast  ballots for their favourite magazines via the MMPA website."The entry fee is $10. Nominations will open April 1 and close April 20. Watts says the MMPA is aiming to break even on the program, making money through ticket sales for the gala ($50 for members, $55 for non-members).