CAPE MAY — Rachel Shubin, contributing writer for the Cape May Star and Wave, won two awards in the New Jersey Press Association Better Newspaper Contest.
Shubin earned awards for feature writing and for arts and entertainment writing.
The awards are for work published in 2025. The NJPA’s annual Better Newspaper Contest has divisions for daily and weekly newspapers. The Star and Wave competes in the weekly newspaper division, which is open to NJPA member newspapers from across the Garden State.
Shubin won a second-place award in featuring writing for a story titled “Silent Book Club’s South Jersey chapter welcomes walk-ins.”
The story is about Silent Book Clubs that allow readers to gather together at designated locations, to read silently, with built-in time for meeting new friends and engaging in conversation.
The Cape Island resident won a third-place award in the Arts & Entertainment category for a story about a tattoo exhibit in the Carroll Gallery at the Emlen Physick Estate. Cape May MAC (Museums + Arts + Culture), Shubin wrote, “is embracing both its Victorian heritage and modern existence with a new, visually engaging exhibit.”
“Rachel covers local government and writes feature stories for the Star and Wave,” Publisher David Nahan said. “Her feature stories are so engaging, so I am glad she was honored with these awards.”
He noted Shubin also writes regional stories published by the Star and Wave and its sister newspaper, the Ocean City Sentinel.
“Rachel has won awards in the past for her contributions to the Sentinel’s special sections on coastal storm preparation,” Nahan said. “This was the first time we entered some of her stories just for the Star and Wave, so it’s notable that she won these two awards in the latest statewide competition.”
“Rachel’s writing improved so much last year. I was very pleased to see that she earned statewide recognition,” Star and Wave Editor Craig D. Schenck said.
“Writing has been my passion since I was 8 years old and I have worked the past 24 years to make that dream a reality,” Shubin said. “It is a pinch-me moment and humbling that my writing is award-winning.
“I truly strive to honestly capture the voices of my article subjects in a fair and just way, and I am thankful for the support of my past and present publishing team,” Shubin said. “I am thankful and appreciative that my parents never wavered in their support when I told them I wanted to be a journalist, let alone a journalist in a small beach town.”
The Ocean City Sentinel, which also competes in the weekly division, won 15 awards in the NJPA competition, including for some stories that also appeared in the Star and Wave.
