Chosen from among the winners and finalists of the 2009 National Magazine Awards, this collection features a mixture of reviews, profiles, and reporting that caught both readers' and critics' attention.

Showcases articles written by a variety of journalists judged as finalists or winners in a contest sponsored by the American Society of Magazine Editors, and addresses topics ranging from reporting to feature writing.

In a time of reckoning, this year’s National Magazine Awards finalists and winners focus on abuse of power in many forms. Ronan Farrow’s Pulitzer Prize–winning revelation of Harvey Weinstein’s depredations (New Yorker), along with Rebecca Traister’s charged commentary for New York and Laurie Penny’s incisive Longreads columns, speak to the urgency of the #MeToo moment. Ginger Thompson’s reporting on the botched U.S. operation that triggered a cartel massacre in Mexico (National Geographic/ProPublica) and Azmat Khan and Anand Gopal’s New York Times Magazine investigation of the civilian casualties of drone strikes in Iraq amplify the voices of those harmed by U.S. actions abroad. And Alex Tizon’s “My Family’s Slave” (Atlantic) is a powerful attempt to come to terms with the cruelty that was in plain sight in his own upbringing. Responding to the overt racism of the Trump era, Ta-Nehisi Coates’s “My President Was Black” (Atlantic) looks back at the meaning of Obama. Howard Bryant (ESPN the Magazine) and Bim Adewunmi (Buzzfeed) offer incisive columns on the intersections of pop culture, sports, race, and politics. In addition, David Wallace-Wells reveals the coming disaster of our climate-change-ravaged future (New York); Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham’s ESPN the Magazine reporting exposes the seamy sides of the NFL; Nina Martin and Renee Montagne investigate America’s shameful record on maternal mortality (NPR/ProPublica); Ian Frazier asks “What Ever Happened to the Russian Revolution?” (Smithsonian); and Alex Mar considers “Love in the Time of Robots” (Wired with Epic Magazine). The collection concludes with Kristen Roupenian’s viral hit short story “Cat Person” (New Yorker).

This year's selections have been chosen from among the finalists of the National Magazine Awards. Includes articles from "The New Yorker, New York Times Magazine," and "Esquire."

The Best American Magazine Writing 2020 brings together outstanding in-depth reporting and incisive criticism. It features extraordinary globe-spanning journalism and showcases the work of remarkable stylists.

In the magazine world, no recognition is more highly coveted than an "Ellie," presentedby the American Society of Magazine Editors. Selected from thousands of submissions, the pieces in this anthology represent the very best of those -- outstanding works by some of the most eminent writers in America: Laura Hillenbrand (Seabiscuit) on living and creating with chronic fatigue syndrome Dave Eggers (A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius) on love and surfing Mark Bowden (Black Hawk Down) on modern torture and the "landscape of persuasion" Seymour M. Hersh (Chain of Command) on the "selective intelligence" used by the White House to justify the war in Iraq Calvin Trillin (The Tummy Trilogy) on his favorite force of nature, the newsman R. W. Apple, Jr. Tucker Carlson (CNN's Crossfire), the "whitest man in America," on a peace mission with Rev. Al Sharpton And many more!