Applications are now open for the 2026 LION Publishers Sustainability Awards

We’re thrilled to announce that applications are now open for the 2026 LION Publishers Sustainability Awards.

Each year, the LION Awards recognize outstanding work from independent news publishers who are building sustainable businesses and making a meaningful impact in their communities. These awards celebrate excellence across LION’s core pillars: journalistic impact, financial health, and operational resilience.

Why apply?

The LION Awards recognize achievement in an increasingly important, albeit less glamorous, side of journalism: maintaining an operationally and financially sound business model. Participants can expect:

• Cash prizes for award winners
• Recognition across the LION network and broader news ecosystem
• One complimentary ticket to the LION Awards Ceremony & Dinner for finalist organizations

Finalists will be celebrated, and winners will be announced, during our in-person ceremony on September 9 at the 2026 Independent News Sustainability Summit in San Diego. LION Awards participants are not required to attend the Summit, but are strongly encouraged to join the full event.

Applications are open today through Thursday, April 30, 2026, at 5 p.m. PT.

What to expect in 2026

This year’s LION Awards include several updates designed to better reflect the diversity and scale of our membership:

• Streamlined revenue tiers: Most award categories will now be evaluated across two tiers:
  • Micro/Small
  • Medium/Large
• Updated category structure: Three categories will not be based on membership tiers but will have four finalists each:
  • New Business of the Year
  • Transformational Impact
  • Community Member of the Year
• New selection process for Transformational Impact: This category will be nominated by LION members and industry experts, and the winner will be selected by a committee of LION board members. 

As in previous years, entries in judged categories will be evaluated by an independent panel of industry experts.

Eligibility

The LION Awards are open exclusively to current LION members.

• You must become an active member by April 23, 2026 (or renew your membership by April 30, 2026) to participate
• The awards will recognize work completed between April 16, 2025, and April 30, 2026
• New Business of the Year considers work from January 1, 2025, through April 30, 2026

If your membership has lapsed, please contact membership@lionpublishers.com as soon as possible to renew. Your membership must be renewed by April 30, 2026, to be eligible for the Awards.

Entry details

• Deadline: April 30, 2026, at 5 p.m. PT 
• Entry fees:
  • Micro/Small tier: $30 per entry
  • Medium/Large tier: $50 per entry
• You may submit entries in multiple categories
• Entries can be edited up until the deadline
• No extensions will be granted

All entries must be submitted and paid for through the awards platform to be considered.

2026 LION Awards categories

• LION Business of the Year
  • Recognizes a LION member that has made significant progress toward achieving sustainability through strengthening its operational resilience, financial health, and journalistic impact. 
• New LION Business of the Year
  • Recognizes a LION member — founded after January 1, 2025 — that exhibits, even in its very early stages, a clearly defined commitment to working toward achieving sustainability through operational resilience, financial health, and journalistic impact.
• Operational Resilience Award
  • Recognizes a LION member that has made significant progress toward strengthening its operational resilience by establishing processes, policies, and a people-centered company culture designed to support staff, manage growth, and promote sustainability.
• Financial Health Award
  • Recognizes a LION member that has made significant progress toward strengthening its financial health by developing a plan for earning money, managing a budget, and/or monitoring revenue and expenses to extend its financial runway. This can also include developing a successful, creative strategy to grow or diversify revenue while positively impacting their financial health. 
• Public Service Award
  • Recognizes a LION member that has consistently produced journalism with meaningful and demonstrable impact in its community and has held those in power accountable.
• Community Engagement Award
  • Recognizes a LION member that has achieved general excellence in journalistic impact by demonstrating an intentional and systematized approach to community engagement that consistently tells stories for, with, and by the people they are working to serve.
• Collaboration of the Year
  • Recognizes a LION member that has successfully formed a short-term or long-term collaboration with at least one other organization to positively affect its journalistic impact, financial health, and/or operational resilience. Entries can include both business-focused and/or editorial-focused collaborations; however, the most successful entries will be able to demonstrate a positive impact on more than one of LION’s pillars of sustainability (journalistic impact, financial health, and operational resilience). 
• Product of the Year
  • Recognizes a LION member that has developed a successful and creative short-term or long-term product to strengthen its journalistic impact, financial health, and/or operational resilience.
• Community Member of the Year (selected by members)
  • This award recognizes an individual affiliated with a LION member organization who exemplifies LION’s core values. This person routinely goes above and beyond to support, acknowledge, and celebrate their fellow news entrepreneurs.
• Transformational Impact Award (selected by members and industry experts)
  • Recognizes a LION member that has achieved a transformational impact for its organization through dedication to improving operational resilience, financial health, and/or journalistic impact. This member organization is not only making an impact internally, but its growth has also had a positive effect on the communities they serve and the independent news ecosystem.

How to apply

Submit your entries through the LION Awards portal. If you have used the portal before, you will be prompted to enter your password. If not, you will be prompted to create an account.

Be sure to review the full category descriptions, judging criteria, and submission guidelines before starting your application. Those details are available on our webpage.

Questions?

LION will host an information session about applying for the Awards and other LION opportunities on Thursday, April 2, at 10 a.m. PT. Please register using this link.

For any outstanding questions about the entry process, please contact Jess deRivera, associate director of membership, at jessderivera@lionpublishers.com.