Big news for the little magazine on South Main Street: The Oxford American nabbed a major award last night at the National Magazine Awards in New York, the equivalent of the Oscars for magazine nerds (they’re known as the “Ellies” — think red-ink-stained carpet).
The Oxford American won in the “General Excellence, Literature, Science and Politics” category, topping Aperture, Foreign Affairs, Nautilus, Poetry, and Virginia Quarterly Review. The magazine has nabbed Ellies before, but this is the first time in its history it has earned a victory in the General Excellence category. The period awarded covers both the tenure of departed editor Roger Hodge and new editor Eliza Borne. Champagne all around.
The grand prize, Magazine of the Year, went to The Atlantic. Winners in other categories included New York, Lucky Peach, Politico, Esquire, the New Yorker, Intercept, and Wired.
The awards, sponsored by the American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) and run by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, have been presented annually since 1966.