Congratulations to the 2023 Excellence in Religion Reporting Award Winners 

At a special ceremony hosted by Columbia University's Journalism School on November 6, 2023, the Religion News Association (RNA) showcased religion journalism excellence, awarding nearly $11,000 in prizes. 

Congratulations to the journalists, authors and news outlets who won the 2023 RNA Awards for Religion Reporting Excellence across 13 categories spanning print, online and broadcast media, as well as nonfiction books!

The award winners included Religion Stories of the Year from Elizabeth Dias ("Where Does Life Begin?" The New York Times), Michael Rezendes ("Seven Years of Sex Abuse: How Mormon Officials Let It Happen," The Associated Press) and Sonia Paul ("Trapped in Silicon Valley's Hidden Caste System," Wired). The event also included a panel of awardees across categories, with Roxanne Stone (Religion News Service), Michael Rezendes (The Associated Press) and Liam Adams (The Tennessean).

Since 1949, the Religion News Association has been the premier professional association for people who report on religion in the news media. Our mission is to equip journalists throughout the world with the tools and resources they need to cover religion with balance, accuracy and insight.

We look forward to announcing our 2024 award process in the coming weeks and celebrating with you all in Pittsburgh, PA from April 18-20, 2024 at our 75th Anniversary Conference! 

Below is a full list of awardees. Congratulations to all, for their contributions to the religion beat!  

Religion Story of the Year

  • 1st Place - Elizabeth Dias, The New York Times

  • 2nd Place - Michael Rezendes, The Associated Press

  • 3rd Place - Sonia Paul, Wired 

Renner Award for Enterprise and Serials

  • 1st Place - Ruth Graham and Elizabeth Dias, The New York Times

  • 2nd Place - Roxanne Stone, Katelyn Beaty and Jonathan Woodward, Religion News Service

  • 3rd Place - Sonia Paul, Wired 

Supple Award for Feature Writing

  • 1st Place - Sonia Paul, Vox and Wired 

  • 2nd Place - Deepa Bharath, The Associated Press

  • 3rd Place - Sam Kestenbaum, Rolling Stone, The Washington Post and The Land Magazine

Newspapers: Large and Wire Services

  • 1st Place - Eliza Shapiro and Brian M. Rosenthal, The New York Times

  • 2nd Place - Ruth Graham, The New York Times

  • 3rd Place - Deepa Bharath, The Associated Press

Newspapers: Small and Midsized

  • 1st Place - Liam Adams, The Tennessean 

  • 2nd Place - Tamarra Kemsley, The Salt Lake Tribune 

Online-Only News Outlets

  • 1st Place - Mira Fox, The Forward

  • 2nd Place - Barry Yeoman, The Assembly 

  • 3rd Place - Luke Tress, Times of Israel

Documentary

  • 1st Place - Valeria Perasso and Georgina Pearce, BBC/BBC 100 Women

Television: National and Local

  • 1st Place - Unity Productions Foundation, "The Great American Muslim Road Trip," PBS

Photography: Single Photo

  • 1st Place - Petros Giannakouris, The Associated Press

Photography: Gallery

  • 1st Place - Jessie Wardarski, The Associated Press

Multimedia: Analysis

  • 1st Place - Bobby Ross Jr., The Associated Press

  • 2nd Place - Jack M. Jenkins, Rolling Stone and Religion News Service

  • 3rd Place - Kelsey Dallas, Deseret News 

Multimedia: Commentary or Blog

  • 1st Place - Menachem Wecker, National Catholic Reporter

  • 2nd Place - Celia Viggo Wexler, Salon and NBC

  • 3rd Place - Thomas J. Reese, Religion News Service

Magazine, Overall Excellence

  • 1st Place - The Revealer, "Special Issue: Trans Lives and Religion"

  • 2nd Place - Deseret Magazine, "The State of Faith"

Magazine and Non-daily Newspapers

  • 1st Place - Erik Tryggestad, The Christian Chronicle

  • 2nd Place - Katie Collins Scott, National Catholic Reporter

  • 3rd Place - Noah Philips, Moment

Broadcast: Radio

  • 1st Place - Deena Prichep, NPR 

  • 2nd Place - Walter Ratliff, The Associated Press

Broadcast: Podcast

  • 1st Place - Hana Baba, the Stoop from Radiotopia and PRX, "Pious and Pleasured"

  • 2nd Place - Leah Henoch, Katie Henoch, Emily Martinez, Sarah Ventre, Rebecca Ross, Matt Shaer and Sydney Fleischmann, Campside Media and Sony Music Entertainment, “Witnessed: Mystic Mother"

Book: Nonfiction

  • 1st Place - Harley Rustad, Lost in the Valley of Death

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