Kitsap News Group’s Luciano Marano was named Washington state’s Feature Writer of the Year last Friday. He primarily writes for the Bainbridge Island Review.

In total, the group won 45 awards in the 2018 Better Newspaper Contest, sponsored by the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association at its annual meeting Oct. 11-13 in Yakima.

Marano took home a total of seven awards, including first-place wins in Personality Profile (long) and Sports Personality Profile; and third-place wins for Business Feature Story, Comprehensive Coverage (single writer), Story on the Arts and News of the Weird.

“Bainbridge is a really vibrant place, and it’s a pleasure to be able to represent them and cover the stories that happen here,” he said.

The Port Orchard Independent’s editor, Bob Smith, led the group with 14 awards, including five first-place awards in the following categories: Election Story, Comprehensive Coverage (single writer) General Feature Story (short), Personality Profile (short) and Art Review.

Smith also placed third in the Feature Writer of the Year competition. He took first place in the category last year and third in 2016.

Brian Kelly, editor of the Bainbridge Island Review, won six awards, including first-place wins in Breaking News Story, Crime and Court Story, Front Page Design and Feature Photo (black and white). The Review also place second in the General Excellence category.

Central Kitsap Reporter writer and photographer Michelle Beahm won nine awards. She placed first, second and third in Pictoral Photo (black and white), and she also was awarded first place in Color Pictoral.

North Kitsap Herald senior staff writer Nick Twietmeyer placed second in Investigative Reporting and third in both Environmental and Breaking News Reporting.

In advertising, Marleen Martinez won two awards, placing first in the Most Original Idea category and third in Youth-Oriented Content.

The group also won Best Tourism Special Section for its Discover Kitsap publication and Best Special Events Section for the Bainbridge Island Review’s Let It Not Happen Again section.

The Kitsap News Group, which is owned by Sound Publishing, Inc., consists of the Bainbridge Island Review, the Central Kitsap Reporter, the Kingston Community News, the Port Orchard Independent and the North Kitsap Herald.