Publisher Archant has been holding annual award ceremonies for its newspaper divisions.

The company is split into five newspaper regions – Herts and Cambs, London, South West, Norfolk, Suffolk – each of which has been recognising the achievements of editorial staff.

Winners from each division will now go forward to the company-wide awards ceremony, to be held next month.

The main divisional editorial winners are:

Herts and Cambs

Editorial Person of the Year
Winner – Alan Davies, sports/deputy editor The Welwyn and Hatfield Times
Highly Commended – Natalie Bowyer, reporter Hunts Post
Brian Asplin, editor Cambs Times and Wisbech Standard
Barry Hunt, editor Harlow Herald

Team of the Year
Winner – editorial team, Harlow and Bishop’s Stortford Herald Highly commended: editorial team, The Cambs Times and Wisbech Standard

Product or Service of the Year
Making the Right Choice for Education – magazine guide to local independent schools.

London

Editorial Person of the Year
Winner Keith Archer – deputy group editor Keith Archer who covers Islington Gazette, Camden Gazette and North London Journal series.
Highly Commended – Kate Bryson, Kentish Times

Innovation or New Launch of the Year
Ham & High Readers’ Edition – Ham & High (Hampstead and Highgate) celebrated Local Newspaper Week by encouraging readers to send in stories. They received over 100 contributions – enough to produce a 28-page supplement.

Product or Service of the Year
Winner – Hornsey & Crouch End Journal Series for increasing sales by 9.5 per cent in the past year.
Highly Commended: The Ham & High series

South West

Innovation or New Launch of the Year
Go Green – 24-page magazine supplement in the Weston and Somerset Mercury.

Norfolk

Editorial Person of the Year
Winner – David Powles, news editor Norwich Evening News
Highly commended: Dan Grimmer, Norwich Evening News
Alex Hurrell, Norfolk weeklies

Unsung Hero of the Year
Peter Raven – web assistant, Pink Un (Archant’s Norwich City FC website)
Highly Commended – Donna Coles, weekly titles sub-editor

Innovation or New Launch of the Year
Urbane Magazine – new, free handbag-sized magazine about Norwich

Employee of the Year
Winner – Russell Cook, editor Lowestoft Journal
Highly commended – Chris Starkie, business editor Eastern Daily Press

Suffolk
No winners from editorial departments in the Suffolk division