Caribbean-American lifestyle quarterly Island Origins Magazine won three Florida Magazine Association awards for its 2017 / 2018 publications. Known as the Charlies, the annual awards are the Florida magazine industry’s top prize, and were presented on Friday, August 10, 2018. Honorees are chosen by a group of leading writers, editors, designers, and educators outside of the state.
Launched in June 2017, Island Origins won the silver award in the category of Best New Magazine.
The magazine won another silver award, Best Writing: Feature, for an exploratory cultural piece called “Hidden Sounds of the Caribbean” written by Trinidadian columnist Bekim Rauseo. The essay explored the varied ethnic and dark social roots and rhythms of island music, including obscure traditional genres like Haitian Twoubadou, Bahamian Rake and Scrape, and Antiguan Benna.
Island Origins’ final recognition was a bronze award, Best Writing: Commentary, for the autobiographical piece written by kidney disease and two-time breast cancer survivor Carla Hill called “Embracing Breastless Beauty”. In it, Hill shares the self doubt and path to acceptance she traversed to maintain her happiness through unimaginable challenges, and to thrive.
Publisher Calibe Thompson was on hand to accept the award. She reflects, “Our growing readership consistently gives great feedback on the quality of our content. This recognition brings another level of validation.”
Island Origins Magazine is a Caribbean American lifestyle print publication primarily distributed in South Florida. It is produced quarterly by Island Syndicate, and appeals to a diverse, sophisticated mainstream audience.
