PORTLAND – The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram’s features sections have collectively been named among the best in the nation by the Society of Features Journalism.

Rod Harmon, deputy managing editor for features, said the newspapers’ Food & Dining, GO and Audience sections placed in the top three for newspapers with circulations under 90,000.

The 24th annual Society of Features Journalism contest did not name first-, second- or third-place winners, just the top three for each division.

Staff Writer Bob Keyes won a second-place award in the Arts and Entertainment Commentary category for three stories that appeared in the Telegram’s Audience section.

Keyes wrote about the controversy surrounding Gov. Paul LePage’s decision to remove a labor mural from a state office building, about the impact that retiring Wiscasset art teacher Thomas Block had on his students, and about the poet Wesley McNair — one of Maine’s best-known poets.

“It’s always gratifying to be recognized for your work, but winning the best features section award from the Society of Features Journalism is especially significant due to the fact that we are competing with newspapers from across the nation,” Harmon said in a prepared statement.

“I am very proud of Bob and everyone on the features staff whose hard work and dedication made this possible,” Harmon said.