PICA Awards judging underway

Judging is underway for this year's Sappi Magazine Publishers Association of SA PICA Magazine Awards. This year, over 150 judges are gathering over a two-week period to judge the local publications in the 46 different categories of the awards. Judges have been drawn from magazine publishers and from professionals and specialists in the various industry sectors.

The PICA Awards are an annual event honouring South Africa's publishers. This year marks the 33rd anniversary of the Awards.

"The main objective of these Awards is to recognise and reward good publishing. The PICA Awards have become the benchmark of publishing excellence for the South African magazine industry," says Harold Eedes, chairperson of MPASA and managing director of Ramsay, Son & Parker. "In our experience, it also encourages good publishing standards and raises the bar as far as publishing standards are concerned."

Major sponsor of the awards, Sappi Fine Papers Managing Director, Albert Lubbe, added "It gives us great pleasure to be part of the Pica Awards, as they provide the magazine publishing industry with a platform to showcase its own standards of excellence."

Other sponsors involved in this year's awards include: The CTP Group, Creda Communications, DeskLink Media, Ince, Marketing Mix, Paarl Media, RNA, Siemens, Trident Press, Universal and Ultra Litho.

The Sappi MPASA PICA Awards will take place at a gala ceremony on Thursday, 31 October 2002 at Vodaworld, Midrand. This year over 600 guests are expected to attend this glittering function. For more information, contact Nikki Ruttimann at the Magazine Publishers Association of SA, telephone 011 447 1264 or e-mail .