Mary Bilyeu wins national award

Congratulations to Mary Bilyeu, Blade food editor, who made a big impression in the 2020 National Federation of Press Women at the large communications competition, winning three feature writing honors, which were for work outside of her food writing.

Mary won First Place for “Elephant in the Zoom: Coronavirus language goes viral,” which the judge called “a fun read.” Sarah Baird designed the graphic with it.

She took second place in the same category for “Remembering John Lennon 40 years later,” which the judge described as well-sourced and well-written. “Well done! I liked the mix of the very personal to the universal.”

Mary also received an honorable mention for “Meet the Matriots: The only political side they take is getting women to run,” which was judged an “excellent news feature with good quotes and thorough reporting.”

Entries were received from writers in 20 states and Washington, D.C. Mary’s first place story now advances to the national NFPW contest where it will compete against other first place winners from regional contests.