Legion Magazine’s special interest publication WW I: The War That Shaped A Nation has won a  bronze medal at the Canadian Newsstand Awards held in Toronto, Sept. 26.

Following upon its honourable mention at the National Magazine Awards in June, the special issue was nominated in the Special Interest Publication/New Magazine category along with five other publications. The gold medal was won by Maclean’s Magazine’s special 2010 Olympics issue. Silver was won by The Hockey News for its special issue, Top 100 Players Of All Time.

The 100-page special-interest publication featured text by Canadian War Museum historian Tim Cook and about 150 archival photographs, as well as a map and a historical timeline.

The Canadian Newsstand Awards were launched in 2002 by Masthead, the magazine devoted to news in the magazine industry. The awards take into account the title’s newsstand sales performance. Sales results are worth 50 per cent of the final score. The other 50 per cent is based on qualitative factors judged by a panel representing key players in newsstand sales.

Legion Magazine has been on selected newsstands across Canada since May 2009.

“What is interesting about these awards is that the performance on the newsstands is taken into account in the judging. If the issue hadn’t sold well, we wouldn’t be in the competition,” said Legion Magazine General Manager Jennifer Morse. “I’m very proud of the staff. The issue was a labour of love.”

The Special Interest Publication/News Magazine category is a new one added this year in recognition of the 10th anniversary and has led to a 13 per cent increase in entries. Other categories in the awards are News, Business, Celebrity; Home and Decor; Sports and Leisure; Family and Kids; and General Interest, Arts, Lifestyle and Regional.

Winning magazines in all categories receive $3,000 each in credits toward promotional programs at newsstands owned by LS Travel Retail, formerly HDS Retail.

The success of the First World War special interest publication led Canvet Publications Ltd., the publisher of Legion Magazine, to publish a second book this fall, WW II: The War That Had To Be Won with text by award-winning historian J.L. Granatstein. The publication will feature more than 150 historical photographs, a timeline and three maps.