NATIONAL MAGAZINE AWARDS 2014 FINALISTS ANNOUNCED

“New York” leads Ellie pack with 9 nominations; “The Hollywood Reporter,” “Modern Farmer” and “The Verge” among first-time finalists

NEW YORK, NY (March 27, 2014)—The American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) today announced the finalists for the 2014 National Magazine Awards. Known as the Ellies—for the Alexander Calder stabile "Elephant" given to each award winner—the National Magazine Awards will be presented on Thursday, May 1, at the New York Marriott Marquis.

Sixty-six publications were nominated this year in 24 categories. Twenty-six magazines received multiple nominations, led by New York with nine, followed by National Geographic, The New Yorker and Wired, each with six. Bon Appétit received five nominations; GQ and Harper’s Magazine both received four.

Magazines with three nominations include The AtavistThe AtlanticEsquire, Garden & Gun, The New York Times Magazine, Outside, Vanity Fair and W. Publications with two nominations are Backpacker, Bloomberg BusinessweekESPN The Magazine, Glamour, Los AngelesMartha Stewart LivingModern Farmer, Money, Poetry, Runner’s World and Slate.

Six publications are first-time finalists: The Hollywood Reporter, Landscape Architecture and Pacific Standard for General Excellence; Modern Farmer for General Excellence and Magazine Section; Road and Track for Magazine Section; and The Verge for Video.

Digital-first finalists include The Atavist for Multimedia, Video and Reporting; The Daily Beast for Multimedia; Pitchfork for Website; Slate for Website and Columns and Commentary; Tablet Magazine for Columns and Commentary; and The Verge for Video.

Among the notable writers whose work was short listed were Sarah Stillman, one of whose stories for The New Yorker was nominated in the Public Interest category for the third year in a row (her story “The Invisible Army” won the award in 2012); Luke Mogelson, whose stories “The Dream Boat” for The New York Times Magazine and “The River Martyrs” for The New Yorker were both nominated in Reporting; and Wells Tower, whose essay “The Old Man at Burning Man” for GQ and short story “The Dance Contest” for McSweeney’s were nominated in Essays and Criticism and Fiction respectively.

Also honored were Ta-Nehisi Coates, whose blog posts for The Atlantic were nominated in Columns and Commentary and whose story “Fear of a Black President” won the award for Essays and Criticism for The Atlantic last year; David Kamp, whose article “The Day Before” for Vanity Fair was nominated for Feature Writing and whose work is the basis for the Vanity Fair series “The Snob’s Dictionary,” which was nominated in Video; and Tim Walker, whose photographs for were nominated for the third time in the last four years in Feature Photography.

Articles by the novelists Jonathan Franzen, Zadie Smith and William T. Vollman were also short listed. The nominated pieces are Franzen's “Last Song” for National Geographic in Public Interest; Smith's “Embassy of Cambodia” for The New Yorker in Fiction; and Vollman's “Life as a Terrorist” for Harper’s Magazine in Essays and Criticism.

“The range of this year’s finalists is testament to the vitality of magazine media,” said Sid Holt, chief executive of ASME. “Every day media consumers turn to magazines for practical information and advice about their passions and interests. Also growing is readers’ interest in the kind of long-form journalism and digital storytelling that only magazines can deliver. Whatever readers are looking for, they know the best place to find it is in magazines—and that’s what these nominations show, that the quality of magazine journalism both in print and on digital platforms is at an all-time high.”

Established in 1966, the National Magazine Awards are sponsored by ASME in association with the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. More than 250 publications entered the National Magazine Awards this year, submitting 1,586 entries. The judges included 333 magazine editors, art directors and photography editors as well as journalism educators.

National Magazine Awards 2014 Finalists

General Excellence

General Interest Magazines
Honors magazines covering politics, business, technology, sports and entertainment

GQ; Harper’s Magazine; National Geographic; New York; Wired

Service and Lifestyle Magazines
Honors magazines covering family, the home, food, fashion and relationships

ESSENCE; Glamour; Martha Stewart Living; Real Simple; Sunset

Style and Design Magazines
Honors magazines covering fashion, decorating, dining, entertaining and travel

AFAR; Bon Appétit; Garden & Gun; Harper’s Bazaar; W

Active Interest Magazines
Honors magazines covering active sports, outdoor recreation and health and fitness

Field & Stream; Men’s Journal; Outside; Runner’s World; Women’s Health

Special Interest Magazines
Honors magazines serving highly defined reader communities

The Hollywood Reporter; Inc.; Landscape Architecture; Los Angeles; Modern Farmer

Literature, Science and Politics Magazines
Honors smaller-circulation general-interest magazines as well as publications covering the arts

The American Scholar; MIT Technology Review; Mother Jones; Pacific Standard; Poetry


Design
Honors overall excellence in print magazine design

Bon Appétit; Esquire; Martha Stewart Living; New York; Wired


Photography
Honors overall excellence in print magazine photography

Bon Appétit; National Geographic; New York; Vogue; W


Single-Topic Issue
Honors print magazines that have devoted a single issue to the comprehensive examination of one subject

  • Bloomberg Businessweek for “Five Years From the Brink,” September 16-22
  • Esquire for “The American Man Now: Esquire’s 80th Anniversary Issue,” October
  • New York for “His Town,” September 16
  • Poetry for “Landays,” June
  • Scientific American for “The Food Issue,” September


Magazine Section
Honors front- or back-of-the-book departments or sections regularly published in print

  • GQ for “Manual”
  • Modern Farmer for “Modern Farmer Handbook”
  • New York for “Strategist”
  • Road & Track for “Go”
  • Vanity Fair for “Fanfair”


Personal Service
Honors the use of print to serve readers’ needs and aspirations


Leisure Interests
Honors the use of print to provide practical information about recreational activities and special interests

  • Backpacker for “The Truth About Bears,” by Ted Alvarez, March
  • Backpacker for “A Is for Apocalypse,” October
  • ESPN The Magazine for “Analytics Package,” March 4
  • Garden & Gun for “The Southerner’s Handbook,” February/March
  • O, The Oprah Magazine for “Hair Extravaganza!” September
  • Texas Monthly for “The 50 Best BBQ Joints . . . in the World!” June
  • Wired for “Crazy Good! Locos Tacos, Umami Burgers, Fake Meat, and the Miracle of Processed Food,” October


Website
Honors magazine websites and digital-only magazines

National GeographicNew YorkOutsidePitchforkSlate


Tablet Magazine
Honors magazines published on tablets and e-readers, including digital-only magazines

Bloomberg Businessweek; Bon Appétit; Garden & Gun; National Geographic; Wired


Multimedia
Honors digital storytelling and the integration of magazine media

  • The Atavist for “Coronado High,” by Joshuah Bearman, July, at atavist.com
  • The Daily Beast for “Roe v. Wade Turns 40,” by Michael Keller and Allison Yarrow; edited by Harry Siegel, January 22, at thedailybeast.com
  • National Geographic for “The Last Chase,” by Robert Draper, November print issue and iPad edition
  • The New York Times Magazine for “A Game of Shark and Minnow,” by Jeff Himmelman, photographs by Ashley Gilbertson, October 27 print issue and at nytimes.com
  • Wired for “Vision Quest,” by Clive Thompson, September print issue and at wired.com


Video
Honors the outstanding use of video by magazine websites and digital-only magazines


Public Interest
Honors magazine journalism that illuminates issues of national importance


Reporting
Honors reporting excellence as exemplified by one article or a series of articles


Feature Writing
Honors original, stylish storytelling


Feature Photography
Honors the use of original photography in a feature story, photo-essay or photo portfolio


Essays and Criticism
Honors interpretative and critical journalism


Columns and Commentary
Honors political and social commentary; news analysis; and reviews and criticism


Fiction
Honors fiction originally published in magazines


Magazine of the Year
Honors magazines for print and digital editorial excellence and the success of out-of-book programs and services

The Atlantic; Bon Appétit; Esquire; Fast Company; New York

 

All publication dates 2013 unless otherwise indicated

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 in association with the Columbia Journalism School and publishes the ASME Guidelines for Editors and Publishers.

About Columbia Journalism School

For over a century, the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism has been preparing journalists with instruction and training that stresses academic rigor, ethics, journalistic inquiry and professional practice. Founded with a gift from Joseph Pulitzer, the school opened its doors in 1912 and offers master of science, master of arts and doctor of philosophy degrees. Learn more at journalism.columbia.edu.

National Magazine Awards Supported By

 

 

 

Contacts:

Sid Holt
[email protected]
212-872-3723

Meredith Wagner
[email protected]
212-872-3732

Scott Hoeflich
[email protected]
646-805-2057