Sarah Pettit Memorial Award for the LGBT Journalist of the Year

First: Lila Shapiro, The Huffington Post

This year’s Sarah Pettit LGBT Journalist of the Year Award goes to Lila Shapiro, a staff reporter at The Huffington Post. A judge praised her: “Shapiro shows a sophisticated understanding of sensitive topics – her story about life in Harlan County (and the alleged hate crime there) went far beyond any other story I have seen on the topic to get at the true nature of the people there and the complicated secrets they must keep. She is a careful observer watching the way a buff gay man who seems fearless at first gets nervous on a drive out to where the focus of the story has been beaten. She’s a fantastic reporter and clearly knows her own voice and spins a good story.  Truly remarkable.”

Second: Kate Sosin, Windy City Times