NEW YORK -- The New Yorker led the pack Thursday night at the annual National Magazine Awards, winning four prizes, while Fast Company took home the coveted “Magazine of the Year” award.
The David Remnick-helmed New Yorker rebounded from last year’s rare shutout, winning awards for pieces by Ariel Levy (Essays and Criticism), Emily Nussbaum (Columns and Commentary), Zadie Smith (Fiction) and Patrick Radden Keefe (Feature Writing).
New York magazine followed with three awards, for General Interest, Design and Website. Bon Appétit and National Geographic each won two awards, while Cosmopolitan and Modern Farmer took home awards for the first time ever.
The National Magazine Awards are sponsored annually by the American Society of Magazine Editors, in association with Columbia Journalism School. They're also known as the Ellies, since winners get replicas of Alexander Calder’s “Elephant” sculpture.
MSNBC's Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski co-hosted this year's award ceremony, held at the New York Marriott Marquis.
The New Republic lost out on an award as Time magazine won the Public Service prize for Steven Brill’s 24,000-word opus on health care costs. Brill’s investigation was originally planned to run in last year’s relaunch issue of The New Republic under owner Chris Hughes, but was spiked in favor of an interview with President Barack Obama. Brill called Hughes a “liar” after the cover story debacle.
Also notably, The New York Times Magazine won the Reporting prize for Luke Mogelson's "The Dream Boat," which was published on the heels of former editor-in-chief Hugo Lindren's departure from the magazine. Lindren, who had a somewhat rocky three-year tenure atop the masthead, tweeted at the time that Mogelson's article was the "best story I've ever published as an editor anywhere."
THE FULL LIST OF WINNERS:
Magazine of the Year: Fast Company, Robert Safian, Editor, Florian Bachleda, Creative Director, Noah Robischon, Executive Director of Digital
General Excellence, General Interest: New York, Adam Moss, Editor in Chief
General Excellence, Service and Lifestyle: Sunset, Peggy Northrop, Editor in Chief
General Excellence, Style and Design: Bon Appétit, Adam Rapoport, Editor in Chief
General Excellence, Active Interest: Field & Stream, Anthony Licata, Editor in Chief
General Excellence, Special Interest: Inc., Eric Schurenberg, President and Editor
General Excellence: Literature, Science and Politics: Poetry, editors Christian Wiman and Don Share
Design: New York, Adam Moss, Editor in Chief, Thomas Alberty, Design Director
Photography: Bon Appétit, Adam Rapoport, Editor in Chief, Alex Grossman, Creative Director, Alex Pollack, Photo Director
Single-Topic Issue: Bloomberg Businessweek, Josh Tyrangiel, Editor (“Five Years From the Brink”)
Magazine Section: Modern Farmer, Ann Marie Gardner, Chief Executive Officer and Editor in Chief (“Modern Farmer Handbook”)
Personal Service: Cosmopolitan, Joanna Coles, Editor in Chief (“Your Cosmo Guide to Contraception”)
Leisure Interests: O, The Oprah Magazine, Oprah Winfrey, Founder and Editorial Director, Lucy Kaylin, Editor in Chief
(“Hair Extravaganza!”)Website: New York, Adam Moss, Editor in Chief, Ben Williams, Editorial Director, nymag.com
Tablet Magazine: National Geographic, Chris Johns, Editor in Chief
Multimedia: National Geographic, Chris Johns, Editor in Chief (“The Last Chase,” by Robert Draper)
Video: Glamour, Cynthia Leive, Editor in Chief, “Confronting Cancer: BRCA1 & BRCA2 Gene Mutations,” October 9, “Recovery: Meds. and Love,” October 23, and “Life Post-Surgery: Back on Stage,” October 30, from “Screw You Cancer” series
Public Interest: Time, Rick Stengel, Managing Editor, “Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us,” by Steven Brill
Reporting: The New York Times Magazine, Hugo Lindgren, Editor in Chief, “The Dream Boat,” by Luke Mogelson, Photographs by Joel van Houdt
Feature Writing: The New Yorker, David Remnick, Editor, Pamela Maffei McCarthy, Deputy Editor, “A Loaded Gun,” by Patrick Radden Keefe
Feature Photography: W, Stefano Tonchi, Editor in Chief, “Stranger Than Paradise,” photographs by Tim Walker
Essays and Criticism: The New Yorker, David Remnick, Editor, Pamela Maffei McCarthy, Deputy Editor, “Thanksgiving in Mongolia,” by Ariel Levy
Columns and Commentary: The New Yorker, David Remnick, Editor, Pamela Maffei McCarthy, Deputy Editor, Three columns by Emily Nussbaum: “Shark Week,” February 25; “Difficult Women,” July 29; and “Private Practice,” October 7
Fiction: The New Yorker, David Remnick, Editor, Pamela Maffei McCarthy, Deputy Editor, “The Embassy of Cambodia,” by Zadie Smith February 11 & 18