Washington State Magazine writer wins regional awards

Washington State Magazine Associate Editor Adriana Janovich won five awards for two magazine stories - including a first place - in the Society of Professional Journalists' 2025 Region X SPJ Awards.

Janovich won first place in the magazine feature category for "The Constant Diarist," which appeared in the Summer 2025 issue of the magazine. The judge wrote: "Wonderful off-beat story about Robert W. Shields, who wrote what is 'largely considered the world's most voluminous diary.' He didn't have time to read his own infinitely detailed journal, because he was too busy chronicling the next day's pages. Was Mr. Shields the most boring man in the world or was he a savant of the mundane? One thing is certain, his lifetime's obsession filled a lot of cardboard boxes which can be found in the library at Washington State University. Has anyone ever attempted to read the 37 million words that fill his diary?"

The same article also won second place in the personal profile category and second place for magazine arts & culture reporting.

Janovich also won second place in the magazine feature category for her Fall 2025 article, "And the Ladies of the Pullman Club." The judge wrote: "Congratulations to the impressive ladies of the Pullman Fortnightly Club. This elegant history should be required reading for modern feminists who believe the discovery of women can be traced back to the 1970s. The members of the PFC continue to maintain the high standards and ideals of their foremothers who began the literary group in the nineteenth century."

The club feature also won third place for magazine arts & culture reporting.

Winners were announced June 1.

Janovich joined WSU and Washington State Magazine in 2019 after writing for newspapers around the state of Washington, most recently as food editor at The Spokesman-Review in Spokane. She is also the author of Secret Spokane: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure (2026, Reedy Press) and Unique Eats and Eateries of Spokane (2024, Reedy Press).