The Los Angeles Press Club has announced the finalists for the 64th Southern California Journalism Awards, and Alta Journal has been named in multiple categories.

“This is a terrific honor for Alta,” says Alta managing editor Blaise Zerega. “Our nominated stories, photographs, and illustrations run the gamut from nature to culture, history to future forecasting, criticism to personal essays. Congrats to all the finalists!”

Louise Farr is a finalist in the Consumer News or Feature category for “The Accident on the Pacific Crest Trail,” a story about the hiking accident that killed Trevor Laher in 2020. (This story is also being recognized in the Sports category.)

In the category of Science Reporting, two Alta stories have received nods: Jason G. Goldman’s “Bird-Watching Goes Both Ways” and John Markoff’s “The Butterfly Effect.”

“On a Wing and a Prayer,” Adam Fisher’s profile of flying-car maker Dezső Molnár, is competing in the Technology Reporting category. Fisher is also nominated in the Features Business/Government category for “The Mushroom Man’s Magic,” a profile of artist turned entrepreneur Phil Ross. Penni Gladstone’s images for that story are also nominated in the Portrait Photo category.

Lydia Kiesling’s personal travelogue “Paltry Gestures” is among the nominees for Travel Reporting.

In Criticism of Books, John Freeman and David L. Ulin are both nominated. In Criticism of Art/Architecture/Design, Hunter Drohojowska-Philp, Lydia Lee, and Jessica Zack are nominated. In Criticism of Food/Culture, Gustavo Arellano and Sydney Love are recognized.

In the category of Public Service News or Feature, Dean Kuipers is nominated for “California’s Farms: Drought, Depression, and Suicide,” a close look at the difficult lives of California agricultural workers.

“Flight of the Condors,” by Joy Lanzendorfer, is nominated for Environmental Reporting.

Julia Flynn Siler’s look back at the murder of Jane Stanford in 1905, “‘A Horrible Death to Die,’” is nominated in the Crime Reporting category. Siler is also nominated in the Investigative category for “The Safe Place That Became Unsafe,” about an abuse scandal at San Francisco’s Cameron House.

Héctor Tobar’s “Why I Write: To Be Tall” is nominated in the category of Immigration Reporting.

“Michaela’s Shadow,” Katya Cengel’s story of a 1980s kidnapping, is cited in the Crime Reporting category.

In the category of Humor/Satire Writing, Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell is nominated for her comic “The Rumors Are True… I Got a Landline!”

For Photo Essay, Gordon Wiltsie is recognized for images accompanying Robert Roper’s “The ‘Orderly Anarchy’ of Ancient California.” In Illustration, James Ransome is nominated for illustrations accompanying Susan Straight’s “Biddy Mason and Hannah Embers Were Here”; Chris Sickels/Red Nose Studio, for images throughout the Spring 2021 Next West Issue; and Mark Smith, for illustrations accompanying Julian Smith’s “The Search of a Lifetime.” For Graphics, Matt Twombly and Michael Schwab are cited for their Guide and Map of California.

In the design categories, Chris Sickels/Red Nose Studio shares a nomination for Cover Art with Alta for the Spring 2021 issue. Alta’s creative director, John Goecke, is being recognized for Page Design for the Fall 2021 Art Issue and “The Last Poems of Jim Harrison.” Goecke is also being cited for Best Issue for Winter 2021: A Year Like No Other; Summer 2021: In Search of the Secret West; and Fall 2021: The Art Issue.

Jessica Zack is being recognized in the category of Culture/Arts for her profile of photographer Matt Black, “In Search of an ‘American Geography.’”

Jim Lewis’s profile of Dave Hickey, “Not Everyone Should Be a Critic,” is cited for Feature Under 1,000 Words.

Catherine Womack’s piece about opera director James Darrah, “Opera in Service of Its Audience,” is a finalist for Entertainment Feature. Womack is also nominated for Education Reporting for her essay “We’re All Homeschoolers Now.”

For Personality Profile, Carla Blank is cited for “The Resurrection of Sister Aimee.”

In the category of Lifestyle Feature, Lynell George is nominated for “Playing a Sweet Mix of Gumbo,” a profile of musician Chuck Taggart.

The Los Angeles Press Club will announce the SoCal award winners at a gala on June 25.•