For the second year in a row, the Vineyard Gazette has been named a distinguished newspaper by the New England Newspaper and Press Association.

The award was given to the paper at the press association’s fall conference held in Natick on Oct. 8. The Gazette came in second in its circulation category for newspaper of the year; that top honor this year went to the Ellsworth American, a weekly paper published in Ellsworth, Me.

The Inquirer and Mirror, Nantucket’s weekly newspaper of record, won newspaper of the year in its circulation category.

The daylong conference featured seminars led by experts in the industry and an awards luncheon. Gazette publisher Jane Seagrave and editor Julia Wells attended.

The press association members include weekly, daily and specialty newspapers in Connecticut, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The association hosts two conferences and competitions each year; one in the fall and one in winter.