Last night I didn’t win my category at the National Magazine Awards and I’m still a bit bummed about it. The competition was strong, as it was in all categories, and I always felt that that fine story by Athul Gawande would win. It did.
It turned out to be a fine night for San Francisco magazines. Four magazines published in San Francisco won awards. Wired won several, and Mother Jones and McSweeny’s each took home the copper elephant. (Yes, it’s gleaming copper.) San Francisco magazine, where my story was published won the excellence award in its circulation group. My editors and the publisher soothed my bruised feelings by telling me that they took that honor in part because of my story between their pages.
Magazines are a New York-centric world. The New Yorker and New York took home most of the awards. All the work featured was excellent, so why do the New York publications get so many awards?
I suppose I wouldn’t be complaining if I had beaten the New Yorker!
The publisher took us all out for a celebratory dinner at a nice restaurant where we stayed past 1 a.m.. Attached here are photos of my son Ben wearing the “Elle” on his head. It makes charming headgear, and I wish I had one in my millinery collection!