MCSWEENEY'S WINS ASME AWARD FOR FICTION

Conjunctions, Georgia Review, New Yorker and Oxford American are named finalists

NEW YORK, NY (February 6, 2019)—The American Society of Magazine Editors today announced the winners and finalists of the second-annual ASME Award for Fiction. Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern was named the winner of the award. The finalists included Conjunctions, The Georgia Review, The New Yorker and Oxford American.

The ASME Award for Fiction will be given to McSweeney's at the annual presentation of the Ellie Awards at Brooklyn Steel, in Williamsburg, New York, on Thursday, March 14. The medal awarded to the winner bears the likeness of Alexander Calder’s stabile “Elephant,” the symbol of the National Magazine Awards and the reason the awards are known as the Ellies. The four finalists will each receive certificates of recognition.

Intended to celebrate the historic link between literary fiction and magazine journalism, the ASME Award for Fiction honors print magazines and magazine websites for overall excellence in fiction. An entry consists of three examples of short fiction.

The 2019 winner and finalists were chosen, subject to the approval of the Board of Directors of the American Society of Magazine Editors, by a jury chaired by Karolina Waclawiak, Executive Editor, Culture, BuzzFeed News. The jury also included Keith Gessen, George T. Delacorte Professor of Magazine Journalism, Columbia Journalism School, and Koa Beck, who serves on the board of directors of Nat.Brut and is a Joan Shorenstein Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School.

ASME Award for Fiction 2019 Winner

Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern
Claire Boyle, Managing Editor

For “Skinned,” by Lesley Nneka Arimah, “Vinegar on the Lips of Girls,” by Julia Dixon Evans, and “Unsound,” by Maria Reva

[Judges’ Citation] In these short stories, young women find the fortitude to liberate themselves from communities that are hostile to them. With crisp dialogue, melodic sentences and nimbly immersive world building, “Skinned,” “Vinegar on the Lips of Girls” and “Unsound,” deftly explore the imprisonment of young women by social convention and the peculiar and specific longing of girls. For its assured spirit—and its commitment to surprise—Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern is named the winner of the 2019 ASME Award for Fiction.

ASME Award for Fiction 2019 Finalists

Conjunctions
Bradford Morrow, Editor

“What the River Saw,” by Diane Ackerman, “Why Brother Stayed Away,” by Ann Beattie, and “Transfer,” by Laura van den Berg

The Georgia Review
Stephen Corey, Editor

"These Things Happen Here, at This Time of Night," by Blair Hurley, "Toba Khedoori's Untitled (Table and Chair) (1999)," by Yxta Maya Murray, and "An Escalation," by Kelsey Norris

The New Yorker
David Remnick, Editor

Under the Wave,” by Lauren Groff, “Omakase,” by Weike Wang, and "Chaunt," by Joy Williams

Oxford American
Eliza Borné, Editor

Resurrection Hardware; Or, Lard & Promises,” by Randall Kenan, “Eggs,” by Mary Miller, and “The Stephanies,” by Thomas Pierce 

About ASME

The American Society of Magazine Editors is the principal organization for magazine journalists in the United States. The members of ASME include the editorial leaders of most major consumer and business magazines published in print and on digital platforms. Founded in 1963, ASME works to defend the First Amendment, protect editorial independence and support the development of journalism. ASME sponsors the National Magazine Awards for Print and Digital Media in association with the Columbia Journalism School and publishes the ASME Guidelines for Editors and Publishers.

Contacts:

Sid Holt
[email protected]
212-872-3723

Susan Russ
[email protected]

212-872-3732