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It is derived from the magazine released in 1919 by International Bible Students (old name of Jehovah's Witnesses), which was called The Golden Age. From 1937 it was called Consolation. In 1946 the present magazine called by the name Awake! was released. (In some countries it was also known as New World for a while.)
Whereas its companion magazine The Watchtower focuses mostly on Bible study and doctrine, Awake! has a wider scope, publishing articles on science, nature and geography, usually with a religious slant.
Other features in the magazine include Bible crosswords or quizzes; "Young People Ask", a column giving Bible-based advice on questions commonly asked by young people; and "Watching the World", a selection of single-paragraph news items from a variety of sources.
The Awake! magazine has 32 pages and is printed in full color. It is available in 87 different languages, including English, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Arabic, and Zulu with a total worldwide circulation of 22 million.
Awake!, along with its companion magazine The Watchtower, was sold in the United States until March 1, 1990, when the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that religious literature being sold was subject to taxation. In the United States, distribution of Jehovah's Witnesses literature was at that time switched to a voluntary donation system. The sale of the magazines, and all Jehovah's Witnesses literature, continued in some countries of the world until the early 2000's. " Pioneers" paid a lower price for the magazines, which are then resold, with the individual evangelist getting means of support.
Awake!, is now distributed free of charge everywhere, although voluntary donations are accepted to support the magazines' further distribution.