The Best American Magazine Writing 2008 is an essential guide to that year's most entertaining, politically charged, and sophisticated essays. The anthology illuminates the most compelling issues of the year written by prize-winning authors.
Magazine Articles Anthology Overview
The American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) chose selections from among the winners and finalists of the 2008 National Magazine Awards. The articles span an eclectic range, from the chilling account of the CIA's secret interrogation program to a humorous look at the absurdities of modern medicine, from a scathing critique of America's activities in Iraq to an acid takedown of snark culture.
Included are:
- Mathew Scully's look inside the making of the George W. Bush presidency
- Walter Kern's surprising report on the mental effects of multitasking
- Steve Oney's investigation into the unforeseen casualties of the Iraq War
- Christopher Hitchens's frank assessment of the relationship between illicit sex and politics
- Matt Taibbi's profile of Barack Obama
- Peter Hessler's tour of China's instant cities
- Caitlin Flanagan's flirtation with the online escapade of minors
- Kurt Anderson's meditation on American greed
- Evan Wright's account Hollywood's oldest comeback
Magazine Writers Honored
Established in 1966, the National Magazine Awards is the preeminent program in the magazine industry to honor editorial excellence. The magazine industry's most prestigious editorial award winners were chosen from among 1,964 entries from 333 print and online magazines. The 25 winners were selected in 20 categories. Under consideration were editorial objectives, innovative editorial techniques, journalistic enterprise, and imaginative design. The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is associated with the ASME awards program. Barnes & Noble was the exclusive sponsor of the 2008 awards.
Magazine Writers Categories
Among the examples of writing categories are:
- General Excellence recognizes overall excellence in magazines and honors the effectiveness with which writing, reporting, editing and design all come together to command reader's attention and fulfill the magazine's unique editorial mission.
- Personal Service recognizes excellence in service journalism with the advice or instruction presented should help the reader improve the quality of their personal lives.
- Leisure Interests recognizes excellent service journalism about leisure-time pursuits with practical advice or instruction that should help readers enjoy hobbies or other recreational interests.
- Reporting honors the enterprise, exclusive reporting and intelligent analysis that a magazine exhibits in covering an event, a situation or a problem of contemporary interest and significance.
The categories also included
- Public Interest
- Feature Writing
- Profile Writing
- Essays
- Columns and Commentary
- Reviews and Criticism
- Magazine Section
- Single Topic Issues
- Design
- Photography
- Photojournalism
- Photo Portfolio
- Fiction
- General Excellence Online
- Personal Service On Line
- Interactive Features
About the American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME)
The American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) is a non-profit professional organization for editors of print and online magazines which are edited, published and distributed in the United States. Established in 1963, ASME currently has about 850 members nationwide. Among other things, ASME works to preserve editorial independence and speaks out on public policy issues, particularly those pertaining to the First Amendment.
The anthology is an example of quality writing that can be enjoyed by readers but also provides examples for aspiring authors and journalists, whether writing fact or fiction, to use as teaching tools. The inclusion of online categories as well as that of print material is especially helpful.
The American Society of Magazine Editors. The Best of American Magazine Writing 2008. NY,NY: Columbia University Press 2008
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