Seven Days won more editorial awards than any other publication in the region at the 2025 New England Newspaper Convention in Portland, Maine, on March 29. The competition, hosted by the New England Newspaper & Press Association, honors outstanding work by newspapers and online news outlets.
Read on for a list of our first-place finishers. In most cases, Seven Days competed against other large-circulation weeklies. We’re very grateful to NENPA for the recognition — and to the advertisers and Super Readers who support our work!
1st Place Awards
Arts & Entertainment Reporting
Chelsea Edgar, for “Circus of Life”
Inside Bread and Puppet Theater as Founder Peter Schumann, 89, Contemplates His Final Act
Inside Bread and Puppet Theater as Founder Peter Schumann, 89, Contemplates His Final Act
By Chelsea Edgar
Theater
Crime and Courts Reporting
Derek Brouwer and Colin Flanders, for “From Room 37 to Cell 17”
A Young Man’s Path Through the Mental Health Care System Led to Prison — and a Fatal Encounter
A Young Man’s Path Through the Mental Health Care System Led to Prison — and a Fatal Encounter
By Derek Brouwer and Colin Flanders
Crime
General News Story
Seven Days Staff, for “Totally Transfixed”
Totally Transfixed: A Rare Eclipse on a Bluebird Day Dazzled Crowds in Northern Vermont
Totally Transfixed: A Rare Eclipse on a Bluebird Day Dazzled Crowds in Northern Vermont
By Seven Days Staff
2024 Solar Eclipse
Racial, Ethnic or Gender Issue Coverage
Rachel Hellman, for “Taking Refuge”
Taking Refuge: Transgender Newcomers Find Safety, Services and Community in Vermont
Taking Refuge: Transgender Newcomers Find Safety, Services and Community in Vermont
By Rachel Hellman
News
Education Reporting
Anne Wallace Allen, for “Pass or Fail?”
Pass or Fail? Newly Branded Vermont State University Needs More Students — but Its Enrollment Is Declining
Pass or Fail? Newly Branded Vermont State University Needs More Students — but Its Enrollment Is Declining
By Anne Wallace Allen
Education
Local Personality Profile
Courtney Lamdin, for “Armed With a Video Camera, One Man Documents Crime and Disorder in Burlington”
Armed With a Video Camera, One Man Documents Crime and Disorder in Burlington
Armed With a Video Camera, One Man Documents Crime and Disorder in Burlington
By Courtney Lamdin
Crime
Investigative / Enterprise Reporting
Joe Sexton, for “The Loss of Grace”
The Loss of Grace: In Vermont’s juvenile lockup, a girl endured violence and isolation. She wasn’t the only one. And it was no secret.
The Loss of Grace
In Vermont’s juvenile lockup, a girl endured violence and isolation. She wasn’t the only one. And it was no secret.
In Vermont’s only juvenile lockup, the Woodside Juvenile Rehabilitation Center, a troubled girl was held in isolation and subjected to violent restraints — even as advocates pressed for reforms at the facility. The full story of what she endured inside Woodside, which was run by the Department for Children and Families before it was shuttered, has never been told — until now.
By Joe Sexton
Investigation
Climate change or weather reporting
Ken Picard, for “On Thin Ice”
UVM Scientists Unearth Bad News for Our Climate Future Beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet
UVM Scientists Unearth Bad News for Our Climate Future Beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet
By Ken Picard
Environment
News Video
Eva Sollberger, for “Plainfield Recovers From Catastrophic Flood”
Event Special Section
Seven Days Staff, for “Where the Sun Don’t Shine: Seven Days Guide to the 2024 Solar Eclipse”
Food Page or Section
Melissa Pasanen and Jordan Barry, for the food section in the November 15, 2023, issue
Spot News Video
Eva Sollberger, for “‘Stuck in Vermont’ During the Eclipse”
Overall Design and Presentation
Seven Days Design Team, for “Totally Transfixed”
Headline Writing
Seven Days Staff, for Best Headlines