The National Magazine Awards are a series of American awards that honor excellence in the magazine industry. They are sponsored by the American Society of Magazine Editors and administered by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York City, New York. The awards have been presented annually since 1966.
They are generally considered the highest award in the magazine industry; in the magazine world, they are roughly equivalent to the Pulitzer Prizes (which are far more widely known in the popular culture, but do not include a magazine category).
Recipients of awards are selected in a two-step procedure: First, entries are reviewed by a judging panel, which recommends a group of finalists; then, a second panel of judges chooses one winner in each category. Categories include:
- General Excellence
- Personal Service
- Leisure Interests
- Reporting
- Public Interest
- Feature Writing
- Profile Writing
- Essays
- Columns and Commentary
- Reviews and Criticism
- Magazine Section
- Single-Topic Issue
- Design
- Photography
- Photojournalism
- Photo Portfolio
- Fiction
- General Excellence Online
- Personal Service Online
- Interactive Feature
Winners in each of the categories are awarded an "Ellie", a copper-colored stabile sculpture by Alexander Calder, resembling an elephant, which is manufactured by New York firm Society Awards. The National Magazine Awards web site has a searchable database of all the winners and top-five finalists.
Famous quotes containing the words national and/or magazine:
“But the creative person is subject to a different, higher law than mere national law. Whoever has to create a work, whoever has to bring about a discovery or deed which will further the cause of all of humanity, no longer has his home in his native land but rather in his work.”
—Stefan Zweig (18811942)
“You don’t know what you might be if you would look beyond the ball, the opera, the fashion-plate—and right over the heads of the perfumed, mustached bipeds who call themselves men and worship at your feet.”
—Mattie Chappelle, U.S. women’s magazine contributor. The Revolution (April 28, 1870)