 |
|
|
March 17, 2006 — The American Society of Magazine
Editors
(ASME) today announced the slate of finalists for the 41st
annual
National Magazine Awards (known as "The Ellies"),
the magazine industry's highest honor. The Virginia
Quarterly Review,
a literary and current affairs magazine published at the
University
of
Virginia, garnered six nominations, an unprecedented number
for a magazine its size. VQR received more
nominations than such perennial
powerhouses as The New Yorker, Harper's, GQ, Esquire, Time,
and Rolling Stone. The only magazine to
receive more nominations than
VQR was The Atlantic Monthly with eight.
"We're honored and humbled by the wealth of nominations," said
VQR
Editor Ted Genoways. "The awards are judged by magazine
editors
nationwide, many of whom may have been unfamiliar with
VQR. Yet they
read our work objectively and found that we compare favorably
with
much larger and more commercial magazines. It's a testament
to our
writers and to the hard work of our entire staff."
For a small magazine to receive six nominations is unheard
of. The
other six magazines with five or more nominations have
circulations
ranging from 250,000 to over 2 million, staffs of dozens,
and
multimillion-dollar annual budgets. By comparison, VQR's
circulation
is 6,000; its staff is just four full-time employees; and
it is
supported by the University of Virginia. "We couldn't
be less like
some of our competitors," Genoways said, "but
I hope we've shown that great writing is flourishing here."
Last year, VQR received two nominations (for General Excellence
for
Magazines with circulations under 100,000 and for Fiction),
which was considered a feat, as only
twenty magazines nationally received
multiple nominations. At that time, the nominating committee
wrote, "VQR has been catapulted into
the twenty-first century with a stunning new design, edgy
graphic features,
and in-depth reporting
from around the world — all of it augmenting, not replacing,
its
literary core." VQR has continued to build on that
success. This year VQR again received nominations
for General Excellence (circulation under 100,000) and
for Fiction (two nominations).
Additional nominations came for Essays (two nominations)
and Reviews &
Criticism.
"We're especially gratified to be recognized in every
phase of our
work — nonfiction, fiction, reviews, general excellence,
which
includes consideration of editing and design," said
Genoways. "We aim for excellence in every phase of
what we do."
The winners will be announced on May 9 in a ceremony at
Jazz at
Lincoln Center in New York.
FACT SHEET — VQR'S NOMINATIONS
VQR received a nomination for General Excellence for Magazines
with circulations under 100,000; two nominations
for Fiction; two
nominations for Essay, and one for Reviews & Criticism.
• The General Excellence category recognizes overall excellence
in
magazines and honors the effectiveness with which writing,
reporting, editing and design all come together to command
readers'
attention and fulfill the magazine's unique editorial mission.
Also
named as finalists in the Under 100,000 Circulation category
are
Aperture, The Believer, Legal Affairs, and ReadyMade.
• VQR received two nominations in the Fiction category
(given to groups of three short stories):
"Peacekeeper" by Alan Heathcock, "Smother" by
Joyce Carol Oates,
"
Ina Grove" by R.T. Smith (all published in the Fall
issue).
"So Help Me God" by Joyce Carol Oates (Winter
issue), "The
Guggenheim Lovers" by Isabel Allende (Summer issue)
and "The Ghosts
We Love" by Brock Clarke (Summer issue).
The other magazines nominated in Fiction are The Atlantic
Monthly,
McSweeney's, and Zoetrope.
• VQR received two nominations in the Essay category:
"Dead Enough?: The Paradox of Brain Death" by
Pauline W. Chen (Fall issue).
"The Wagon" by Martin Preib (Summer issue).
Harper's also received two nominations in this category
and Vanity
Fair received one.
• For Reviews & Criticism, two essays by Sven Birkerts, "Humboldt's
Gift" (Summer issue) and "A Weekend at Montauk" (Winter
issue), were
chosen. The other magazines nominated in the category
are The
Atlantic Monthly, GQ, Harper's, and New York magazine.
For more information, contact Susan Weinstein, (212)
645-4969,
swpubrel@aol.com or
Kevin Morrissey, (434) 924-3675, k.morrissey@virginia.edu.
All the
nominated work (with the exception of Isabel Allende's "The
Guggenheim Lovers") is available for viewing at
our Web site at http://www.vqronline.org. |
