The winners of the 2020 Boating Writers International (BWI) writing contest were announced today, and not one but two awards were bestowed for editorial content appearing in FishTalk Magazine during the year. In the Boating Issues, News, and Analysis category, sponsored by Mercury Marine, the article Barf-O-Rama: Winning the Epic Battle Against Seasickness, by Lenny Rudow, took first place.

bwi award winner
A fresh look at the topic of seasickness on the pages of FishTalk scored a first-place BWI award.

Judge John Burnham said, “Marine journalists have written this story hundreds of times, but never with such originality and such an irrepressible voice.” That’s high praise coming from Burnham, a marine writer with decades of experience under his belt and a history of managing entire editorial departments.

FishTalk was also called out for its visual appeal, thanks to a third-place award in the Photography category. Sponsored by the Freedom Boat Club, the Photography category isn’t one in which FishTalk has ever been recognized before. But in 2020, “Finn the Fishdog” did the trick.

photography award for fishtalk
"Finn the Fishdog" placed third, in the BWI photography contest.

The BWI writing contest, now in its 28th year, is judged by writers and editors in the field and draws hundreds of entries every year. Criteria such as article complexity and flow, entertainment and educational value, and originality are used in the judging process, and each article, photo, or video in the running is scored by a panel of four judges.

“Being recognized in the BWI writing contest is uber-awesome,” says FishTalk’s Angler in Chief Lenny Rudow. “It’s a clear sign that we’re accomplishing our mission, delivering great fishing information in an informative and entertaining way. I couldn’t possibly have been happier after receiving the news.”

FishTalk has had its works judged in the BWI contest since its first year of publication in 2017, and these two awards bring the cumulative total number won by authors and photographers appearing on the pages of FishTalk Magazine to five. “We’ve already published a number of fantastic articles in 2021,” says Rudow, “and there are many more on the way. Hopefully, we can keep this winning streak going!”