THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MAGAZINE EDITORS ANNOUNCES WINNERS FOR 2020 NATIONAL MAGAZINE AWARDS

The New York Times Magazine is top winner with 5 Ellie Awards; National Geographic and Bon Appétit both win 4

Former Esquire Editor-in-Chief David Granger receives Magazine Editors’ Hall of Fame Award during 55th annual presentation 

NEW YORK (May 28, 2020)—The American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) announced winners for the 2020 National Magazine Awards for Print and Digital Media this evening during a virtual event. ASME President Jonathan Dorn opened the 55th annual presentation of the Ellie Awards, which was postponed due to COVID-19 concerns.

The New York Times Magazine took top honors this year, with five category wins including: Podcasting (first-time winner), Reporting, Feature Writing and Public Interest. The magazine received its first award for General Excellence, and its 11th award overall in the last four years. Three of the awards—General Excellence, Public Interest and Podcasting—recognize The 1619 Project.  

National Geographic and Bon Appétit each won four awards. National Geographic had first-time wins in Feature Photography and Social Media. Bon Appétit was a first-time winner in Leisure Interests, Video (with Condé Nast Entertainment) and Design.

The most prestigious honor, General Excellence, went to four publications. 2020 winners are: 

General Excellence, News, Sports and Entertainment

The New York Times Magazine
Jake Silverstein, Editor in Chief

General Excellence, Service and Lifestyle

Bon Appétit
Adam Rapoport, Editor in Chief

General Excellence, Special Interest

The Hollywood Reporter
Matthew Belloni, Editorial Director

General Excellence, Literature, Science and Politics

Quanta
Thomas Lin, Editor in Chief

The Marshall Project won two awards, Digital Innovation and its second consecutive award in the Website category. 

The Washington Post Magazine’s first nomination resulted in a first award in any category with a win in Single-Topic Issue. Quanta and Catapult were also first-time nominees and winners in General Excellence and Columns and Commentary, respectively. 

Pamela Colloff won her second National Magazine Award in Reporting for “False Witness;” she won previously in Feature Writing. Emily Kassie also won her second award for “Detained” in Digital Innovation. 

The Magazine Editors’ Hall of Fame Award was presented by journalist Tom Junod to David Granger, former editor-in-chief of Esquire magazine.
 
The digital event also included the presentation of the 2020 ASME Award for Fiction to The Paris Review, as well as honors for the five winners of the 2020 ASME Next Awards for Journalists Under 30.

“This year’s winners reflect our continually changing industry, and represent the highest-quality content being produced,” said Sid Holt, executive director of ASME. “We congratulate all the winners, and finalists, and look forward to reading, watching and hearing what all the honorees will create in the coming year.”

Established in 1966, the National Magazine Awards for Print and Digital Media are sponsored by the American Society of Magazine Editors in association with the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and are administered by ASME. Originally limited to print magazines, the awards now recognize magazine-quality journalism published in any medium.
 
Two hundred forty-five national and regional publications entered the Ellie Awards this year, submitting 590 print, 531 digital and 133 multiplatform entries. 

The 281 print- and digital-magazine editors, art directors, photo editors and journalism educators who judged the Ellies this year met in mid-January at the Columbia School of Journalism in New York City to choose the 2020 finalists.

Winners receive “Ellies,” the elephant-shaped statuettes modeled on Alexander Calder’s stabile “Elephant Walking” that give the awards their name.

Visit asme.media for more information about Ellie Awards 2020 winners, including links to content.

2020 National Magazine Awards Winners

General Excellence, News, Sports and Entertainment

The New York Times Magazine
Jake Silverstein, Editor in Chief
April 7, August 11 and August 18
nytimes.com/magazine

General Excellence, Service and Lifestyle

Bon Appétit
Adam Rapoport, Editor in Chief
April, May and September
bonappetit.com, bonappetit.com/basically and bonappetit.com/healthyish

General Excellence, Special Interest

The Hollywood Reporter
Matthew Belloni, Editorial Director
February 20, April 11 and December 19
hollywoodreporter.com

General Excellence, Literature, Science and Politics

Quanta
Thomas Lin, Editor in Chief
quantamagazine.org

Design

Bon Appétit
Adam Rapoport, Editor in Chief
Michele Outland, Creative Director
May, September and October
bonappetit.com, bonappetit.com/basically and bonappetit.com/healthyish

Photography

National Geographic
Susan Goldberg, Editor in Chief
April, June and September
nationalgeographic.com/magazine

Feature Design

National Geographic
Susan Goldberg, Editor in Chief
“Countdown to a New Era in Space”
July

Feature Photography

National Geographic
Susan Goldberg, Editor in Chief
“The Immortal Corpse,” photographs by Lynn Johnson
January

Website

The Marshall Project
Susan Chira, Editor in Chief
themarshallproject.org

Digital Innovation

The Marshall Project in partnership with The Guardian
Susan Chira, Editor in Chief, The Marshall Project
“Detained,” by Emily Kassie
September 24 at themarshallproject.org

Social Media

National Geographic
Susan Goldberg, Editor in Chief
“Wildlife Tourism”
@natgeo on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
@nationalgeographic on Reddit
National Geographic Society on LinkedIn

Podcasting

The New York Times Magazine
Jake Silverstein, Editor in Chief
Three episodes of “1619,” hosted by Nikole Hannah-Jones: “The Fight for a True Democracy,” August 23, “The Economy That Slavery Built,” August 30, and “The Birth of American Music,” September 6

Video

Bon Appétit with Condé Nast Entertainment
Adam Rapoport, Editor in Chief, Bon Appétit
Matthew Duckor, Vice President, Head of Programming, Lifestyle and Style, Condé Nast Entertainment
Three episodes of “Gourmet Makes” with Claire Saffitz: “Pastry Chef Attempts to Make Gourmet Ferrero Rocher,” February 12, “Pastry Chef Attempts to Make Gourmet Hot Pockets,” September 25, and “Pastry Chef Attempts to Make Gourmet Ruffles,” October 22

Single-Topic Issue

The Washington Post Magazine
Richard Just, Editor
“Prison”
October 28 at washingtonpost.com and November 3 in print

Personal Service

Audubon
Jennifer Bogo, Vice President, Content
“Start Here! Your Guide to Climate Action,” reporting and editing by Andrew Del-Colle, Breanna Draxler, Kevin Dupzyk, Rene Ebersole, Martha Harbison, Janet Marinelli, Andy McGlashen, and Hannah Waters
At audubon.org and in the Fall print issue

Leisure Interests

Bon Appétit
Adam Rapoport, Editor in Chief
“Absolutely Perfect,” by Alex Beggs, November
“Making Perfect: Thanksgiving” at youtube.com/bonappetit

Reporting

The New York Times Magazine in partnership with ProPublica
Jake Silverstein, Editor in Chief, The New York Times Magazine
Stephen Engelberg, Editor in Chief, ProPublica
“False Witness,” by Pamela Colloff
December 8

Feature Writing

August 11

Profile Writing

The Georgia Review
Gerald Maa, Editor
“Jerry’s Dirt,” by Jacob Baynham
Fall

Essays and Criticism

Poetry
Don Share, Editor
“Tactile Art,” by John Lee Clark
October 

Columns and Commentary

Catapult
Nicole Chung, Editor in Chief
Three “An Unquiet Mind” columns by s.e. smith: “When Disability Is a Toxic Legacy,” April 23, “The Ugly Beautiful and Other Failings of Disability Representation,” October 24, and “What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Mental Health and Medication,” November 26

Public Interest

The New York Times Magazine
Jake Silverstein, Editor in Chief
“The 1619 Project,” August 14 online at nytimes.com/magazine and August 18 in print

ASME Award for Fiction

The Paris Review
Emily Nemens, Editor
“Under the Ackee Tree,” by Jonathan Escoffery, Summer; “Foxes,” Kimberly King Parsons, Summer; and “Howl Palace,” by Leigh Newman, Fall

ASME NEXT Awards for Journalists Under 30

Tyler Foggatt, Associate Editor, The New Yorker
Nominated by Susan Morrison, Articles Editor, The New Yorker

Jazmine Hughes, Staff Editor, The New York Times Magazine
Nominated by Jake Silverstein, Editor in Chief, The New York Times Magazine

Miles Kohrman, Special Projects Editor, The Trace
Nominated by Tali Woodward, Deputy Editor, The Trace

Natalie Krebs, Senior Editor, Outdoor Life and Field & Stream
Nominated by Alex Robinson, Editor in Chief, Outdoor Life

Magazine Editors’ Hall of Fame
The Magazine Editors’ Hall of Fame was established in 1995 by the American Society of Magazine Editors to recognize the editorial achievements and career accomplishments of leading journalists.
 
Magazine Editors’ Hall of Fame 2020 Honoree

David Granger
Award presented by Tom Junod

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About ASME
The American Society of Magazine Editors is the principal organization for the editorial leaders of magazines and websites published in the United States. Founded in 1963, ASME strives to safeguard the First Amendment, support the development of journalism and defend the editorial integrity of print and digital publications. ASME sponsors the National Magazine Awards for Print and Digital Media in association with the Columbia Journalism School, conducts training programs for reporters and editors 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.

Contacts:

Sid Holt
[email protected]
212-872-3723

Kaitlyn Kurosky
[email protected]