Each year, the highly sought-after PPA Awards are given to the very best in professional magazine publishing and business media across the UK. They reward excellence across a wide breadth of publishing disciplines, including editing, subscription strategies, campaigns, teamwork, podcasting and diversity & inclusion. Three new categories were introduced for 2021 to reflect how the publishing industry is evolving: Best Response to COVID-19, Children’s Magazine of the Year & Subscriptions Strategy of the Year.

Mark Allen Group won Special Interest Magazine Brand of the Year for Farmers Weekly and Immediate Media Co. secured Media Brand of the Year for BBC Good Food. BBC TopGear by BBC Studios took home the Front Cover of the Year Award, as voted for by the public. And this year’s Chairman’s Award was awarded to Nursing Standard, RCNi.

The Big Issue took home four awards – the most of any publisher – for a plethora of impressive achievements in supporting its community through COVID-19. Paul Cheal, Group CEO of The Big Issue Group had this to say:

“To be the recipients of four PPA Awards is a proud moment for us all here at The Big Issue.”

“In March, 2020, overnight, all earning potential was stripped from the 1,700 regular vendors who made their living selling The Big Issue, whilst 75% of our own revenue base disappeared overnight.”

“As a team, we have excelled in dealing with the impact of Covid-19 on vendors. The magazine is now available via an app, subscriptions and retail, allowing us to generate new revenue streams to support the company and create a fund for vendors. Our Covid campaign and the support we received from both corporates and businesses meant that throughout the lockdowns we were able to support 2,000 struggling vendors in lockdown with more than £1 million.”

“Now we are out of lockdown, we’ve equipped vendors with not only PPE but also card readers for safe, cashless sales. You can now also buy a subscription from your local vendor direct from our site. As part of our wider digital expansion, we've launched an SVOD service TBI TV; and we will soon reveal a new app to help vendors gain digital skills and plan their finances.”

“And we don’t plan on stopping there. We are fully engaged in diversifying our sustainable revenues to continue to deliver social change, to deliver to both our vendors and our readers. A huge thank you goes to PPA and the judging panel for recognising the exemplary and tireless work of our staff, after what has undoubtedly been the toughest year in our 30-year history.”

The full list of winners can be found here.