''Alberta Views'' (also ''AlbertaViews'') is a

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

regional

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

, established in 1997, that covers political, social and cultural issues in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

of Alberta. It is published 10 times annually and its monthly print run was 15,000 copies by 2016. Its monthly readership in 2016 was 76,000. ''Alberta Views'' was named Canadian Magazine of the Year at the 2009 National Magazine Awards.

John Ralston Saul John Ralston Saul (born June 19, 1947) is a Canadian writer, political philosopher, and public intellectual. Saul is most widely known for his writings on the nature of individualism, citizenship and the public good; the failures of manager-l ...

has called ''Alberta Views'' "the new model for what a magazine can be in Canada."

History

''Alberta Views'' was first published in January 1998 as a

quarterly A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content (media), content. They are generally financed by advertising, newsagent's shop, ...

. Since 2006, the magazine has published 10 issues a year. The founding publisher is

Jackie Flanagan Jackie or Jacky may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackie (given name), a list of people and fictional characters named Jackie or Jacky ** Jackie, current ring name of female professional wrestler Jacqueline Moore ** Jackie Lee ( ...

, a Calgary college educator, novelist and philanthropist. In a speech at the 2009 NMAs, Flanagan said she founded ''Alberta Views'' to counter provincial stereotypes. "Many eastern media turned to

Ted Byfield Edward Bartlett Byfield (10 July 1928 – 23 December 2021) was a Canadian conservatism in Canada, conservative journalist, publisher, and author. He founded the ''Alberta Report'', ''BC Report'' and ''Western Report'' newsmagazines. Early lif ...

when they wanted to hear the views of Albertans. And as a third-generation Albertan, I was concerned because he did not reflect the opinions of any Albertan I knew. And if ''Alberta Views'' has done anything to correct the false image that my province has in the rest of the country, I am very grateful."

Tagline and orientation

''Alberta Views'' originally used the

tagline In entertainment, a tagline (alternatively spelled tag line) is a short text which serves to clarify a thought for, or is designed with a form of, dramatic effect. Many tagline slogans are reiterated phrases associated with an individual, so ...

"The Magazine about Alberta for Albertans," and, later, "Leading the Political, Cultural and Social Debate" and "A Forum for Dialogue." The magazine's tagline in 2016 is "New Perspectives for Engaged Citizens." ''Alberta Views'' does not endorse a political party. ''Alberta Views'' is not to be confused with ''

Alberta Report The ''Alberta Report'' was a conservative weekly newsmagazine based in Edmonton. It was founded and edited by Ted Byfield, and later run by his son, Link Byfield. It ceased publication in 2003. Promoting his own successor publication in 2004, ...

'', a defunct right-of-centre magazine based in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

, Alberta, founded by

Departments

The magazine publishes three long-form (3,000+ word) stories every issue as well as original short fiction and essays. ''Alberta Views'' departments include columns by

Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

and

Giller Prize The Giller Prize (sponsored as the Scotiabank Giller Prize), is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English (including translation) the previous year, after an annual juried competition be ...

-nominated author Fred Stenson ("Wit") and former Banff National Park superintendent Kevin Van Tighem ("This Land"), book reviews, arts listings, a ministerial profile ("Meet the Minister"), community profiles and "Eye on Alberta," a mix of news stories, blog posts, speeches and poems from across the province and country.

Notable contributors

Past contributors to ''Alberta Views'' have included notable journalists, magazine writers, essayists, artists, academics and politicians including Katherine Ashenburg,

Todd Babiak Todd Babiak is a Canadian writer and entrepreneur living in Tasmania. Career He is CEO of Brand Tasmania, a co-founder of Story Engine and Places are People, and has published several bestselling novels. His first novel, ''Choke Hold'', was a fi ...

Karen Connelly Karen Marie Connelly (born 12 March 1969) is a Canadian travel writer, novelist and poet who has written extensively about her experiences living in Greece, Thailand and Canada. Life and work Connelly was born in Calgary, Alberta. At seventeen, ...

, Marcello Di Cintio,

Will Ferguson William Stener Ferguson (born October 12, 1964) is a Canadian travel writer and novelist who won the Scotiabank Giller Prize for his novel '' 419''. Ferguson was born fourth of six children in the former fur trading post of Fort Vermilion, Alber ...

, Curtis Gillespie —co-founder of ''

Eighteen Bridges Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the short ...

'' magazine,

Katherine Govier Katherine Mary Govier (born July 4, 1948) is a Canadian novelist and essayist. Biography Katherine Govier was born in Edmonton, Alberta, and was educated at the University of Alberta and York University. She has been made a Distinguished Alumna ...

Alex Himelfarb Alexander Himelfarb (born July 3, 1947) is a former senior Canadian civil servant and sometime academic. Early life and family Born in Germany, he was raised and educated in Toronto. He received a Ph.D. in sociology from University of Toronto. ...

Greg Hollingshead Gregory Hollingshead, CM (born February 25, 1947) is a Canadian novelist. He was formerly a professor of English at the University of Alberta, and he lives in Toronto, Ontario.Jay Ingram Jay Ingram CM (born March 20, 1945) is a Canadian author, broadcaster and science communicator. He was host of the television show ''Daily Planet'' (originally titled ''@discovery.ca''), which aired on Discovery Channel Canada, since the channe ...

Robert Kroetsch Robert Paul Kroetsch (June 26, 1927 – June 21, 2011)

Sid Marty Sid Marty (born 1944) is a Canadian writer. Marty has written five non-fiction books and five poetry books, and also is a singer. Many of his books reflect the time he spent as a park warden for Parks Canada between 1966 and 1978 in Yoho, Jaspe ...

Linda McQuaig Linda Joy McQuaig is a Canadian journalist, columnist, non-fiction author and social critic. She is best known for her series of best-selling books that challenge the dominant free-market economic ideology of recent decades. Her books make the c ...

Omar Mouallem Omar Mouallem is a Canadian writer and filmmaker. He has contributed to ''Wired'', ''The Guardian'', '' NewYorker.com'' and ''RollingStone.com''. His essays and features have garnered him recognition from the Canadian National Magazine Awards and ...

Andrew Nikiforuk Andrew Nikiforuk (born 1955) is a Canadian journalist and author. His writing has appeared in many outlets, including '' Saturday Night'', ''Maclean's'', ''Alberta Views'', '' Alternatives Journal'', and national newspapers. He has won multiple Nat ...

, Paula Simons—a long-time writer for the ''

Edmonton Journal The ''Edmonton Journal'' is a daily newspaper in Edmonton, Alberta. It is part of the Postmedia Network. History The ''Journal'' was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunningham — as ...

'',

Kevin Taft Kevin Taft (born September 9, 1955) is an author, consultant, speaker, and former provincial politician in Alberta, Canada. Prior to his election, he worked in various public policy roles (1973-2000) in the Government of Alberta, private and no ...

, Chris Turner,

Andrew Unger Andrew Unger (born November 8, 1979) is a Canadian writer from Steinbach, Manitoba, best known as the author and founder of the Mennonite satire website The Daily Bonnet (along with the collection ''The Best of the Bonnet'') and for the novel '' ...

, Aritha van Herk, Thomas Wharton, and

Rudy Wiebe Rudy Henry Wiebe (born 4 October 1934) is a Canadian author and professor emeritus in the department of English at the University of Alberta since 1992.

Awards

In addition to being named Canadian Magazine of the Year (2008) at the National Magazine Awards, ''Alberta Views'' has won numerous individual NMAs, Alberta Magazine Awards and Western Magazine Awards including Best Magazine (2005), an ''

Utne Utne is a village in Ullensvang municipality in the Hardanger region of Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the northern end of the Folgefonn Peninsula, at the confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs ...

'' magazine Independent Press award for local/regional coverage (2007) and the 2004 Alberta Mental Health Board award.Alberta Views
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Reviews

Ezra Levant Ezra Isaac Levant (born February 20, 1972) is a Canadian conservative media personality, political activist, writer, broadcaster, and former lawyer. Levant is the founder and former publisher of the conservative magazine, The'' Western Standard''. ...

described the magazine as "an artsy liberal magazine" in 2010.

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.albertaviews.ca/ 1997 establishments in Alberta Alternative magazines Cultural magazines published in Canada Magazines established in 1997 Magazines published in Alberta Mass media in Calgary Political magazines published in Canada Ten times annually magazines