Adams & Adams awards individual categories at PICA awards

At the Magazine Publishers Association of SA (MPASA) 42nd annual PICA Awards, law firm Adams & Adams will be awarding the 12 individual categories of best photojournalist, best profile writer, best public interest, non-professional writer, health and wellness writer, layout artist, social media writer, travel writer, trade and technical writer and visual production of the year.

This collaboration follows the law firm's recent sponsorship of the 2011 Loerie Awards Young Creatives Category.

"We're passionate about supporting home-grown talent," says Mariette du Plessis, partner at Adams & Adams. "Whether it's visual messaging or the written word, we are dedicated to protecting our country's creative voices, which is what gives the partnership such resonance."

Talent often underestimated

According to du Plessis, the talent of the writers, photographers and visual artists working on South Africa's magazines is often underestimated. It is for this reason that the law firm will be rolling out a series of workshops in Cape Town and Johannesburg, which will provide members of the magazine fraternity with information pertaining to the legalities of copyright, contracts and all the other professional skills they will need in their professional lives.

The firm's chairman, Dario Tanziani, says, "We are delighted to partner with the talented individuals from South Africa's magazine industry. All too often, these are the people who, through lack of awareness or for other reasons, lose rights and revenues, which are rightfully theirs. Hopefully we can prevent that."