Boston Phoenix wins 18 awards at 2010 New England Newspaper and Press Association Awards

For the second year in a row, a Boston Phoenix staff writer was named Journalist of the Year, and the Phoenix took home 18 awards -- including 11 first-place prizes -- at the annual New England Newspaper and Press Association (NENPA) Awards.The mammoth haul included awards for design (including overall design, photos, illustrations, and photo illustrations), writing and reporting (in arts, news, editorials, and features), and multimedia (a convergence award for best mix of print and web storytelling).

Boston Phoenix staff writer MIKE MILIARD was honored with two awards -- the year's best human-interest feature story, as well as best social-issues feature story -- for "Death of a Hoop Dream," about the extraordinary life and tragic killing of high-school basketball star Mario Hornsby Jr. Although Miliard does not cover the "transportation/commuting" beat, the Phoenix entered one of his stories in that category on the grounds that the piece in question involved travel, of a sort: namely, time travel. NENPA awarded that piece -- "Space Cowboy," a profile of UConn physicist Ronald Mallett's lifelong efforts to build a time machine -- a runner-up prize. Mike's profile of Red Sox great Luis Tiant's trip back to Cuba also received a third-place award in the sports-writing category, and then NENPA handed Miliard the hardware for Journalist of the Year.  (Phoenix political reporter David Bernstein received that honor last year.)

Here's a quick roundup of the Phoenix's NENPA wins:

FIRST PLACE

• Journalist of the Year: Mike Miliard
• Arts and Entertainment Section (including Music and Film)
  
• Print/Web Convergence: Independents Day: The 50 Best New Bands in America 2009
  
• Editorial Writing
• General News Story: Jason Notte, "Soldiers Committing Suicide"
• Human Interest Feature Story: Mike Miliard, "Death of a Hoop Dream"
• Illustration: Thom Glick, "Medicine Men"
• Overall Design
• Photo Illustration: Kevin Banks (illo of foreclosed gingerbread house)
• Reporting on Religious Issue: Chris Faraone, "Battling Scientology"
• Social Issues Feature Story: Mike Miliard, "Death of a Hoop Dream" 

SECOND PLACE

• Feature Photo: Matt Teuten
• General News Story: Chris Faraone, "Graffiti Wars"
• Reporting on a Religious Issue: James Parker, "The Truth Is Up There"
• Right-to-Know Reporting: Dan Kennedy and Harvey Silverglate, "The 12th Annual Muzzle Awards"
• Transportation/Commuter Reporting: Mike Miliard, "Space Cowboy"

THIRD PLACE

• Personality Photo: Mark Ostow
• Sports Story: Mike Miliard, "Luis Tiant's Lost Years"