Despite a record 700-plus entries and some very impressive competition, Bowhunting World and Archery Business magazines took home a total of five Excellence Awards at the 17th Annual Minnesota Magazine & Publishing Association (MMPA) Awards Gala, held November 7 in Minneapolis.

Archery Business, a trade-only magazine, won the Gold Award in the "Cover Design" category for Business/Trade pubs — for the Jan./Feb. 2013 Trade Show issue that highlighted the magazine's new "Bow Report" section.

Playing off that theme, Archery Business also won a Silver Award in the "Technical Article" category, for "Bow Report," penned by industry veteran Rick Combs. Archery Business also took a Bronze Award in the hotly contested, and much-coveted "Overall Excellence" category determined by evaluating several individual issues.

Archery Business' sister consumer pub, Bowhunting World, took home a Gold Award for "Best Cover Design" in the "Special Interest" category. The winning April 2013 cover features a successful turkey hunter trekking back to camp with his springtime trophy.

Bowhunting World also took home a Gold Award for "Feature Article," for the popular "Readers' Choice Awards" feature that appeared in the February 2013 issue, compiled by Lynne Tauer and designed by Art Director Mark Kingsbury.

"I'm proud to report these 2013 awards continue a long, impressive string of publishing success for Archery Business, Bowhunting World, and Grand View Media Group," said Publisher Jared Pfeifer. "These awards speak not only to our talented team, but also to our strong commitment to quality and innovation. To be recognized for excellence by our peers validates all the hard work we put into fulfilling our mission all year long."

Hundreds of professionals from Minnesota's magazine publishing community attended the sold-out MMPA event, which saw awards presented in more than 50 categories to more than 80 different publications.