Confidence, determination and home-grown innovation, says the 2009 PICA Awards Committee, are the fundamental elements behind the success of the South African magazine industry this year.

Honoured at the annual PICA Awards gala event, MPASA thanked the 2009 award winners for taking the initiative and leading by example particularly during these times of adversity.

"Overall, the judges were very impressed with the high standard of entries across all categories particularly in what is a challenging time for magazines," said MPASA General Manager, Melony Boucher.

Hosted at Emperors Palace, Johannesburg on Thursday, 26 November the evening's big overall winners were:

• Sarie Kos (Media24 Magazines) - the Philip Tyler Trophy: Launch/Relaunch
• Woolworths TASTE (New Media Publishing) - Customer Magazine of the Year
• Leadership (Cape Media Corporation) - Business-to-Business Magazine of the Year
• Sarie (Media24 Magazines) - Consumer Magazine of the Year

Esmaré Weideman was awarded the prestigious and highly-acclaimed Jane Raphaely Award for Editor of the Year in Consumer Publishing for her outstanding contribution to the continued success of Media24's Huisgenoot/YOU/Drum magazines.

Approximately 40 years in existence, the PICA Awards have undergone various changes since its inception but its focus has remained - rewarding outstanding editorial and publishing excellence in the South African magazine industry.

PICA 2009 Sponsors

Paarlmedia, Clicks Clubcard, UPM through Nordic Paper & Packing, S A Courier Systems, On the Dot, Solms Delta, DLT Magazines, ZOOPY, Peninsula Hotels

For more information on the PICA Awards and winners visit www.mpasa.org.za or contact Melony Boucher on 011 551 9800 or email melonyb@printmedia.org.za