As one of a growing handful of online-only magazines in Canada, Orato was excited when Masthead Magazine announced its first annual Canadian Online Publishing Awards.

(Update Sept 15: finalists have been announced. Congrats to all the nominees!)

The awards, to be presented in Toronto on October 26, will recognize everything from Web design to multimedia features, online community, blogs and e-newsletters—10 categories in total, with separate judging for consumer and trade publications.

It’s a great boon to Canadian magazines that have been doing impressive online work for many years, and particularly valuable recognition for newer online-only magazines that have struggled to carve themselves a piece of the pie in an industry still focused mainly on print (though that is shifting rapidly of late).

With judging taking place this month, Orato Managing Editor Lisa Manfield and Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Joy Gugeler were delighted to be asked to sit on two panels for the Best e-Newsletter and Best Overall Website respectively. Not only were we encouraged by the sheer volume of entries, but we were also inspired by some of the creative and well-executed online strategies from magazines big and small across the country.

And we’re looking forward to the unveiling of winners in Toronto this fall. Good luck to all who entered!