NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists—the most prominent network of LGBTQ2S+ media professionals—has recognized two Xtra contributors for their coverage in its 2025 Excellence in Journalism Awards.
Joseph Osmundson has won the award for Excellence in Blogging for “Bud scars, fruiting bodies and being a no-longer-starving artist: On queerness and aging,” a series of three pieces about queerness and aging, through the lenses of friendships, fatness and financial anxiety.
Nico Lang has won the award for Excellence in International Coverage for their piece “‘What if I’m next?’ Canadian trans youth see Nex Benedict’s death as a warning.” Lang was also recognized with one of the organization’s highest individual awards, the Al Neuharth Award for Innovation in Investigative Journalism, as well as the Excellence in Book Writing Award for their book American Teenager.
“I’m so grateful to have my reporting on Nex Benedict recognized by the National Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists and grateful that I got the chance to uplift queer Canadian youth responding to his tragic, unnecessary death,” says Lang. “As a storyteller, I think it can be most valuable and powerful to simply get out of the way and let people tell their own stories, particularly at this time when so many of us are struggling to make sense of the terrible cruelty that surrounds us. Thank you to Xtra for continuing to create an irreplaceable, invaluable space where queer voices can be heard, honoured and celebrated.”
“What an honour to be recognized by the NLGJA as a recipient of the 2025 Excellence in Blogging Award. Xtra Magazine is one of the only outlets left publishing top-notch journalism and writing from a wide variety of queer writers,” Osmundson says. “That my work at Xtra was recognized by a queer organization is a strong reminder of the power of words to be both a mirror reflecting queer culture and a lens sharpening it. In this moment of quick video content, I believe readers still thirst for the type of thinking that the best journalism provides, and I’m immensely grateful to have worked with Xtra on this series about queer folks getting older as the world seems to be moving, itself, in fast forward.”
Tara-Michelle Ziniuk, Xtra’s managing editor, says, “We couldn’t be more proud to have this work and these writers recognized in this way. Both Nico and Joseph have contributed so brilliantly to the magazine over the years and having the NLGJA recognize the quality of their recent work means so much to us.
“Having in-depth, thoughtful, nuanced, conversations within and about the LGBTQ2S+ community is central to our mandate, and these writers really exemplify that.”
You can read about the winners in all categories here. The winners were announced July 23 and will be honoured in September.
Xtra Magazine is the longest-serving LGBTQ2S+ publication in Canada. For more than 40 years, it has been a dedicated voice for telling the stories of queer and trans people, a segment of the population that is largely overlooked or misrepresented by large mainstream media outlets.
Previously a print product that turned solely digital in 2015, Xtra offers fresh journalistic insight, context and background on current affairs and contemporary culture. In 2023, it became the first queer publication to join the ranks of The Trust Project, an international consortium of news outlets committed to transparency, accuracy, inclusion and fairness.
Xtra is owned and operated by Pink Triangle Press, one of the longest-publishing LGBTQ2S+ media groups in the world.
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