The American Society of Magazine Editors released its list of finalists for the 2014 National Magazine Awards (or “Ellies,” as they’re known in the industry) today, and with a total of 30 nominations—far more than any other publisher—Condé Nast cleaned up.
By comparison, Time Inc. racked up nine nominations, while Hearst had seven. Rodale came in fourth with four nominations.
The single title with the most nominations, wasn’t a Condé book, however—instead, it was New York, last year's Magazine of the Year winner, which scored nine nods. Other titles with multiple nominations included National Geographic, The New Yorker and Wired (six nominations each), Bon Appétit (five nominations), and GQ and Harper’s Magazine (four nominations). There were also six first-time finalists: The Hollywood Reporter, Landscape Architecture, Pacific Standard, Modern Farmer, Road and Track, and The Verge.
Rather than waiting an extra week to reveal the finalists for the big Magazine of the Year award as in years past, ASME released the full list along with the other Ellies nominees today. This year’s finalists, embodying “print and digital editorial excellence and the success of out-of-book programs and service,” were The Atlantic, Bon Appétit, Esquire, Fast Company and New York.
Twenty-five titles were nominated for General Excellence. They included GQ, Harper’s Magazine, National Geographic, New York and Wired in the General Interest category; Essence, Glamour, Martha Stewart Living, Real Simple and Sunset for Service and Lifestyle; AFAR, Bon Appétit, Garden & Gun, Harper’s Bazaar and W for Style and Design; Field & Stream, Men’s Journal, Outside, Runner’s World and Women’s Health for Active Interest; The Hollywood Reporter, Inc., Landscape Architecture, Los Angeles and Modern Farmer for Special Interest; and The American Scholar, MIT Technology Review, Mother Jones, Pacific Standard and Poetry for Literature, Science and Politics.
Digital categories were included in the mix for the second year in row (previously, there had been a separate “Digital Ellies”), giving digital-only publications The Atavist, The Daily Beast, Pitchfork, Slate, Tablet Magazine and The Verge a place among the print finalists.
As always, there were a number of buzzed-about articles in the mix, including Rolling Stone’s controversial Boston Bomber feature “Jahar’s World” and Stephen Brill’s Time cover story “Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us.” Striking a lighter note, O’s “Hair Extravaganza!” story, which accompanied the magazine’s now-famous September cover featuring Oprah wearing a giant Afro, also scored a nod in the Leisure Interests category.
The awards will be presented on Thursday, May 1.