About Us

Since 1985, Portland Monthly has been proud to offer an Extraordinary Perspective that’s made it a favorite for readers and lovers of Maine.

Portland Monthly fearlessly refuses to offer undifferentiated “content.” Our prizewinning stories are singular for having real substance. We celebrate the region’s native appeal with revealing stories on fascinating personalities, unbiased reviews, cuisine news in our acclaimed “Hungry Eye” pages, and our striking signature interviews. Never monetized, never compromised, and created for our readers—our stories dare to be different. They dare to provoke. You deserve nothing less.

Each issue captures our audience with fresh fiction, event listings, and exclusive angles on curious incidents that impact everyday life. From realistic assessments of the local economy and its political vagaries to stories on personalities who have chosen our area over all others, to Maine’s own variations of the work ethic, to light-hearted glimpses of Yankee contradictions, we consistently present fresh narratives about the greatest place in the world to visit, to do business in, and to live.


CONGRATULATIONS

 Colin W. Sargent

Connections matter at W&M. Our students thrive because of their experiences and opportunities. It is with great pleasure we share that a member of the

Class of 2021 identified you as most influential to their William & Mary education and experience. 

Thank you for supporting our students in their career success!


London’s Morning Star names Red Hands one of the best books of 2020.

December 20, 2020

thumbnail_Red hand2LONDON, UK— Red Hands, the new novel by Portland Monthly’s publisher and editor Colin W. Sargent, has been named one of the top six books of 2020 by the London Morning Star.

“In Red Hands, author Colin Sargent employs a part-autobiographical, part-fictionalised first person account of the troubled life of Iordana Ceauscescu, wife of Valentin, the eldest child of Nicolae and Elena.

“Fittingly, haz de necaz — the Romanian term for rueful laughter — appears a number of times in this novel and it pretty much describes Red Hands’s tone, one of tragedy leavened by comedy.

“Sargent is at his most skilful and immersive in describing the interior life of Dana as she both seeks to accommodate Elena’s wishes while trying to retain the affections of Valentin.”

See the Morning Star’s best books of 2020 HERE.


Portland Monthly Wins Two National Prizes at the 57th American Graphic Design Awards

December 4, 2020

NEW YORK—For the twelfth year, Portland Monthly has been recognized by Graphic Design USA for its innovative cover designs. From more than 10,000 entries across all media, two Portland Magazine covers won prizes for design excellence at the 2020 American Graphic Design Awards sponsored by Graphic Design USA: Winterguide 2020 and September 2020.

The American Graphic Design Awards is a nationwide, juried competition hosted in New York. The awards have been presented for over five decades, and the judges are industry leaders in all aspects of graphic design. Among the 2020 winners are Airbnb, Anthropologie, the Gates Foundation, Macy’s, and Hilton Hotels & Resorts.

Founded in 1985, Portland Monthly remains the only magazine in the world devoted to Portland, Maine, winning more than 75 design awards for the magazine’s extraordinary perspective in its 35-year history.

Folio: Magazine has named Portland Monthly Design Director Meaghan M. Bailey one of the top 30 magazine executives under 30 nationwide. She has illustrated the new children’s book Snowy Owl & the Seven Sailors, just released this season. “The Winterguide 2020 cover looked ahead to the tumultuous year we didn’t know was ahead of the world. Looking at it now, it’s startling. Our September 2020 issue featured the intersection between the arts and following CDC guidelines to stay safe in these times.”

GDUSAwinners2020

Winterguide 2020                 September 2020


Portland Magazine publisher Colin W. Sargent has three books out in 2020. Red Hands. Nonfiction novel. The Romanian dictator’s daughter-in-law flees the revolution with her infant son and hides in Maine (Barbican Press, London, 2020). Snowy Owl & the Seven Sailors. Children’s book. Seven Schooner Bowdoin sailors, one feathery stowaway—what could possibly go wrong? (Mile Zero Press, 2020, Portland Magazine). Short story “Dirty Night Bingo” and poem “Maneuvering” anthologized in Our Best War Stories (Middle West Press, 2020).

thumbnail_Red hand2 41hl0wJkgPL._SY498_BO1,204,203,200_ OBWS cover MWP branded lower-size

Portland Monthly Wins Three National Prizes at the 2019 American Graphic Design Awards.

November 11, 2019

gdusa winners 2019 3

 

NEW YORK– Portland Monthly is recognized with three prizes at the prestigious national American Graphic Design Awards for design excellence by Graphic Design USA, bringing the publication’s updated total of GDUSA awards to 75.

The American Graphic Design Awards is a nationwide, juried competition from one of the most respected design-industry resources. The awards have been presented for 56 years, and the judges are composed of industry leaders in all aspects of graphic design. Among the 2019 winners are Amazon, Hearst Publishing, NBC Sports, PepsiCo, the U.S. Olympic Committee, US Veterans Affairs, and Yale University.

 

“From more than 12,000 entries, a small handful of projects—including several publication designs by the Portland Monthly magazine team—were selected as winners,” says GDUSA Editor and Publisher Gordon Kaye. “The performance is, in a nutshell, exceptional—but not surprising given Portland Monthly’s consistent record of design excellence.”

Graphic Design USA’s prize announcement of the awards, including the individual issues of Portland Monthly that received the honors:

CONGRATULATIONS!

Your organization has been selected as a winner in the 2019 AMERICAN GRAPHIC DESIGN AWARDS. For 56 years, Graphic Design USA has sponsored competitions that spotlight areas of excellence and opportunity for creative professionals. GDUSA’s American Graphic Design Awards is the original and the flagship, open to everyone in the community and honoring outstanding work of all kinds and across all media. Roughly 10,000 entries were submitted; a highly selective 10% are chosen as a winner — that includes you! — and recognized with an Award Winners Certificate. In the rare case of multiple awards, a Certificate is enclosed for each individual winning piece.

Portland Monthly Magazine, May 2019 Cover Design

“Not only was Anderson .Paak heard all over Portland, but we ensured he was seen all over Portland—before his event—on our award-winning May 2019 cover,” says Colin W. Sargent, founding Editor and Publisher of Portland Monthly.

Portland Monthly Magazine, Winterguide 2019 Cover Design

Portland Monthly Magazine, Summerguide 2018,
A Thousand Julys Editorial Design


DSC_0006Portland Monthly is proud to announce that our Design Director, Meaghan Maurice, has been honored as one of FOLIO’s “30 Under 30.”  Among the winners are senior executives from The Atlantic, Conde Nast, GQ, Men’s Health, Playboy, Glamour, and InStyle. The awards will be celebrated with a luncheon at Hilton Midtown in Manhattan on October 10.

We congratulate Meaghan Maurice, who always keeps our readers in mind with her stunning designs. Because of her work’s extraordinary perspective, we know you already feel connected to her.


One Of Us…

Mona and ss and RemingtonIn November 2017, Portland Monthly gained another member of the team: Remington the chestnut gelding. An ambassador for Ever After Mustang Rescue, Remington’s story is one of Extraordinary Perspective.

Remington was foaled in 2007 on the Nut Mountain near Cedarville, California, and captured in September of the same year. At age two, he was transported by the Bureau of Land Management to Rutland, Vermont, where he was adopted. In the following years, his boundless energy and independent nature proved too challenging for his adopter, and in 2013, Remington was surrendered to Ever After Mustang Rescue in Biddeford, Maine.

When Remington arrived in Maine, he was a “bold, willful, and unpredictable horse,” says Ever After director Mona Jerome. It took months of consistent handling, but with love and training, Remington found his stride and became the perfect gentleman and ambassador he is today. Now the once difficult and defiant mustang makes regular appearances at retirement homes, day care centers, and public events–even making his acting debut as the Headless Horseman at the Seaside Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport! Thanks to the efforts of organizations like Ever After Mustang Rescue, Remington represents the potential of his breed and shows us that with care and a second chance, even the most overlooked misfit can become a star. We’re proud to call Remington a member of the Portland Monthly family.