About this site

wpa-online.org is an independent explainer on the magazine industry: how consumer magazines and trade publications are made, how editorial awards are judged and what the published record says about them. It is written by the wpa-online.org Editorial Desk, which publishes without individual bylines.

What this site is not

wpa-online.org is not the Western Publishing Association and does not speak for it. It does not run, judge or accept entries to any awards, it has no relationship with any association, member, judge or award winner, and it does not publish official lists.

How the articles are written

Each article opens with a direct answer, explains terms the first time they appear and ties factual claims about publishers, categories and years to a named, dated source. Where a detail cannot be confirmed, the article says so rather than guessing.

Corrections

If an article contains an error, the text is corrected and the date of the change is noted on the page where the change matters.