Gambit Weekly, Independent Weekly, LA Weekly, Willamette Week and Creative Loafing Atlanta lead the pack in nominations for the seventh annual Alternative Newsweekly Awards with five each.

The exact order of finish in each category will be announced later this month at the Alternative Newsweekly Awards luncheon at the AAN Convention in Madison, Wis.

Among other papers taking multiple awards this year, The Village Voice and Monday Magazine each have four nominations.

Newly admitted AAN members fared well this year. The Georgia Straight has one nomination while The Local Planet Weekly and Creative Loafing Sarasota each snagged two. All three papers were admitted to AAN in 2001.

On the individual side, Mara Shalhoup of Creative Loafing Atlanta, Brian Hogan of Philadelphia City Paper, Anne Reeser and Martin Thiel of Willamette Week and Nancy Santos of Charleston City Paper each have two.

Several individuals who were previous winners in the contest were nominated again this year, including Willy Stern of the Nashville Scene (five previous awards), Anne Schindler of Folio Weekly (four), Brendan Bernhard of LA Weekly (four), Nate Blakeslee of The Texas Observer (four), Stephanie von Buchau of Pacific Sun (three), Walter Coker of Folio Weekly (three), Jim Schutze of Dallas Observer (three); Clancy DuBos of Gambit Weekly (three), Melinda Ruley of Independent Weekly (three), Darrow Montgomery of Washington City Paper (three), and Lisa Horstman of Metro Pulse (three).

Repeat nominees from last year's contest are Kent Williams (Isthmus) for arts criticism, Alan Pogue (The Texas Observer) in photojournalism, Joe MacLoed (Baltimore City Paper) for cover design, and Joey Sweeney of Philadelphia Weekly for music criticism. Scott Jordan (Gambit Weekly) is nominated in music criticism after winning a first-place in sports reporting in 2001.

Judges were only obliged to choose a first-place winner, and in several cases, that is just what they did. So without further ado, congratulations to Clancy DuBos and Katy Reckdahl of Gambit Weekly, who are both the only winners named in their respective under-54,000 circulation categories. DuBos takes first-place for column/political commentary writing, called "an original voice" by the three-judge panel. Reckdahl is the winner in the news feature category for "Louisiana Lockdown," a seven-part series on juvenile justice. The judges said the series is "packed with power and pathos -- a standout in every way."

Congratulation also to Ken Fisher (Ruben Bolling) and Garret Gaston, the first-place winners in the two divisions of the cartoon contest.

Gaston, whose "La Petite Camera" runs in the Chicago Reader and the San Diego Reader, won first place among cartoonists whose work appears in fewer than f ive AAN papers. The judges said, "The writing is off-the-wall fanciful, and the artwork reflects the feeling that the feature is capable of going anywhere the cartoonist wants it to go. The artwork is well researched, highly imaginative and visually intricate."

Fisher's "Tom the Dancing Bug," which runs in 12 AAN papers, is the winner among cartoonists who are more widely syndicated. "The writing is excellent," the judges said. "Fisher is a true original, willing to take creative risks in order to get his ideas across. He employs a variety of cartoon styles, which utilize his keen sense of parody to maximum effect. The feature is eminently readable and very funny."

The Alternative Newsweekly Awards recognize superior journalism and graphic design among the 121 AAN member papers, which include alternative newsweeklies across the United States and Canada.

Following are the nominees in alphabetical order by the name of the newspaper:

Arts Criticism

Circulation < 54,000
Bob Lancaster, Arkansas Times
James Morrison, Independent Weekly
Stephanie von Buchau, Pacific Sun

Circulation > 54,000
Kent Williams, Isthmus
Brendan Bernhard, LA Weekly
Greg Tate, The Village Voice

Arts Feature

Circulation < 54,000
"A Small World," John E. Citrone, Folio Weekly
"Catching Fire," John Threlfall, Monday Magazine
"Chronicle of the Lost Nashville," Michael Kreyling, Nashville Scene
"Trojan Horses," Eric Rezsnyak, Syracuse New Times

Circulation > 54,000
"True Stories," Andy Markowitz, Baltimore City Paper
"Mind the Arts Gap," Scott Henry, Creative Loafing Atlanta
"Namdi's Biggest Gamble," George Tysh, Metro Times
"Sounds of Success," Matt Palmquist, SF Weekly

Cartoon

Appearing in fewer than five AAN papers
"La Petite Camera," Garret Gaston

Appearing in more than five AAN papers
"Tom the Dancing Bug," Ken Fisher (Ruben Bolling)

Column

Circulation < 54,000
Melinda Ruley, Independent Weekly
Briony Penn, Monday Magazine
Retha Oliver, San Antonio Current

Circulation > 54,000
Toni Schlesinger, The Village Voice
Dave McKenna, Washington City Paper
Mark Zusman and John Schrag, Willamette Week

Column-Political Commentary

Circulation < 54,000
Clancy DuBos, Gambit Weekly

Circulation > 54,000
Jim Schutze, Dallas Observer
Ray Hartmann, Riverfront Times

Cover Design

Circulation < 54,000
Kimberly Miers & Jessica Kourkounis, Blue Dog Press
Jessica Thomas, Ryan Heck & J.J. Marley, Orlando Weekly
Laura Egley Taylor, Santa Fe Reporter
Matt Youngmark, Tacoma Reporter

Circulation > 54,000
David O. Barranco, Joe MacLeod & Nolen Strals, Baltimore City Paper
Annette Waurick, The Georgia Straight
Brian Hogan, Philadelphia City Paper
Basil Childres, Anne Reeser & Martin Thiel, Willamette Week

Editorial Layout

Circulation < 54,000
Nancy Santos & Amy Pastre, Charleston City Paper
Anthony Udrovich, Cityview
Lisa Horstman, Metro Pulse
Todd Bates, Weekly Planet Sarasota

Circulation > 54,000
Bill Smith & Anne Fishbein, LA Weekly
Dean Sebring, Miami New Times
Brian Hogan, Philadelphia City Paper
Anne Reeser & Martin Thiel, Willamette Week

Feature

Circulation < 54,000
"Little Monster," Anne Schindler, Folio Weekly
"Collateral Damage," David Potorti, Independent Weekly
"Seven Days at Ground Zero," Multiple authors, The Local Planet Weekly

Circulation > 54,000
"Forget Me Not," Charles Siderius, Dallas Observer
"Crossing to the Other Side," Michael Kamber, The Village Voice

Health Care

Circulation < 54,000
"Slice of Life," Michael Tisserand, Gambit Weekly
"Frozen Out" Barbara Solow, Independent Weekly
"Loss of Life," Kelly Davis, Ventura County Reporter

Circulation > 54,000
"Dealing Drugs the Legal Way," Mara Shalhoup, Creative Loafing Atlanta
"Losing Dorothy," Sara Catania, LA Weekly
"The New Drug War," Patty Wentz, Willamette Week

Illustration

Circulation < 54,000
Rhett Thiel, Gambit Weekly
Cathie Hahnel, Monday Magazine
Dan Brawner, Nashville Scene
Ryan O'Rourke, Weekly Planet Sarasota

Circulation > 54,000
David Hollenbach, City Pages (Twin Cities)
Brian Stauffer, LA Weekly
Craig La Rotunda, New Times Los Angeles
Paul Moch, Washington City Paper

Investigative

Circulation < 54,000
"Moving Violations," Doug Trapp, Cincinnati CityBeat
"A Wayward Shepherd," William Dean Hinton, Orlando Weekly
"The Number's Game," Nate Blakeslee, The Texas Observer

Circulation > 54,000
"The Bad Cops Club," Mara Shalhoup, Creative Loafing Atlanta
"The Kids Are Not All Right," Amy Silverman, Phoenix New Times
"Fallout," Lisa Davis & John Mecklin, SF Weekly

Media Reporting

Circulation < 54,000
"All in the Family," Larry Shook, The Local Planet Weekly
"Grading the Daily," Willy Stern, Nashville Scene

Circulation > 54,000
"Satan or Savior," Thomas Francis, Cleveland Scene
"Bad News," Bob Whitby, New Times Broward-Palm Beach

Music Criticism

Circulation < 54,000
Scott Jordan, Gambit Weekly
Chris Herrington, Memphis Flyer
Chad Nichols, The Texas Observer

Circulation > 54,000
Roni Sarig, Creative Loafing Atlanta
Joey Sweeney, Philadelphia Weekly
Chris Baty, SF Weekly

News Feature

Circulation < 54,000
"Louisiana Lockdown," Katy Reckdahl, Gambit Weekly

Circulation > 54,000
"Miracles and Pain," Celeste Fremon, LA Weekly
"Devil Fish," Multiple Authors, Phoenix New Times
"The Poisoning of Whitaker," Nigel Jaquiss, Willamette Week

News Story

Circulation < 54,000
"Huckabee Frees Career Burglar," Michael Haddigan, Arkansas Times
"East Camden Safety Concern," Michael Haddigan, Arkansas Times
"The Poster Police," Jon Elliston, Independent Weekly
"Fishing for Answers," Andrew Findlay, Monday Magazine

Circulation > 54, 000
"Mystery Money," Kevin Griffis, Creative Loafing Atlanta
"A Sorry Excuse," Bob Norman, New Times Broward-Palm Beach
"Cop Out," Amanda Scioscia, Phoenix New Times
"Prison Coffee," Erica Barnett, Seattle Weekly

Photography

Circulation < 54,000
Nancy Santos, Charleston City Paper
Walter Coker, Folio Weekly
Alan Pogue, The Texas Ob server

Circulation > 54,000
Michelle Gienow, Baltimore City Paper
Andre Souroujon, The Village Voice
Darrow Montgomery, Washington City Paper