The Walrus grabbed the lion's share of Canada's annual National Magazine Awards, winning in nine categories, but Yellowknife-based Up Here was named magazine of the year.

Up Here, a northern travel and culture magazine that beat out finalists Maisonneuve and Report On Business magazine, was lauded for its "real personality."

The Walrus's nine wins included best single issue (October 2009) and the investigative reporting prize, for Carol Shaben's "Fly at Your Own Risk."

Its other winning articles included:

  • Essays: "The Age of Breathing Underwater" by Chris Turner.
  • Humour: "A Film For Would-Be Immigrants" by Pasha Malla.
  • Personal Journalism: "Cause and Effect" by Lynn Cunningham.
  • Politics and Public Interest: "An Inconvenient Talk" by Chris Turner.
  • Society: "The Most Hated Name in News" by Deborah Campbell.
  • Travel: "Walking the Way" by Timothy Taylor.
  • Spot Illustration: “An Arboreal History According to the Guild of St. Luke” by Lauchie Reid.

The Walrus's closest competitors for top prizes — explore, Report on Business and L'actualité — took home two or three golds each. The newsmagazine Maclean's didn't get any top prizes.

Other notable winners in the 47 categories are:

  • Business: Derek DeCloet, "Robert Milton Has a Lot of Baggage," Report on Business magazine.
  • Columns: Dave Bidini, "Travels in Narnia; Mongolian Invasions; The Great Comeback," Maisonneuve.
  • Arts & Entertainment: Katrina Onstad, "The Jesus Show," Toronto Life.
  • Science, Technology & the Environment: Matthew McClearn, "Sh*t Happens but You Move On," Canadian Business.
  • Health & Medicine: Stéphanie Verge, "Superbugged," Toronto Life.
  • Homes & Gardens: Michael Graydon, Maarten Sluyter, "Top Cloth," Canadian House & Home.
  • Sports & Recreation: Rich Poplak, "Cycle of Life," explore magazine.
  • Fiction: Steven Heighton, "Shared Room on Union," Fiddlehead.
  • Portrait Photography: Gregory Crow, "Stand & Deliver," Vancouver Magazine.
  • Photo Essay: George Webber, "Closing Time," Swerve.
  • Best New Magazine Writer: Danielle Groen, "This Is Your Brain on Love," Chatelaine.

Several prizes for online journalism were also handed out, with the best online magazine award handed to dogsincanada.com and best web-only content to Matthew Fox and contributors for Toronto Life's TIFF.TO site, chronicling the Toronto International Film Festival.