Los Angeles, New York, the New York Times Magazine and National Geographic topped the 2011 National Magazine Awards, each winning two of the so-called Ellies trophies at an excruciatingly long ceremony on Monday night in New York.
Los Angeles magazine won in two of the three categories it was nominated, including general excellence and feature writing — in which it upset the New Yorker.
National Geographic won the magazine of the year, edging the Atlantic, Backpacker, Foreign Policy and Wired for the honor.
The New Yorker, which led the National Magazine Awards field with nine nominations, won just one — for public interest.
Katie Couric, who arrived late, served as host of the Oscar-length, four-hour affair.
Vanity Fair columnist Christopher Hitchens, who is currently battling cancer, won for a series of columns on his illness. "His writing has become better since he's become ill," Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter said while accepting the award for Hitchens. (Carter said that Hitchens has been showing "remarkable signs of recovery" and has even given up drinking scotch.)
Fred Woodward, GQ's legendary designer who won the overall design Ellie, spoke at length about his career while accepting the hardware, which led Couric to quip, "No offense, but now I know why none of you guys went into television."
Couric let Tom Wolfe — who was presented the "creative excellence award" by Rolling Stone editor Jann Wenner — slide.
Wenner noted that the 1984 fiction Ellie went to Seventeen magazine, the same year Rolling Stone started publishing "Bonfire of the Vanities" — and when Wolfe's acceptance speech seemingly began.
Garden & Gun, which won a general excellence award, was singled out by Couric earlier in the evening. Hours earlier.
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"Nothing is better than relaxing after a bad day at the office with a copy of Garden & Gun," Couric said.
The full list of winners (in bold):
GENERAL EXCELLENCE, PRINT
News, Sports and Entertainment Magazines
Honors large-circulation weeklies, biweeklies and general-interest monthlies
Fast Company; New York; The New Yorker; People; TIME
Literary, Political and Professional Magazines
Honors academic and scholarly publications as well as smaller-circulation general-interest magazines
Lapham’s Quarterly; The Paris Review; Poetry; The Sun; Virginia Quarterly Review
Fashion, Service and Lifestyle Magazines
Honors women’s magazines, including health and fitness magazines and family-centric publications
Essence; Real Simple; Vogue; W; Women’s Health
Food, Travel and Design Magazines
Honors lifestyle magazines for men and women as well as shelter titles
Conde Nast Traveler; Garden & Gun; House Beautiful; Martha Stewart Living; Saveur
Finance, Technology and Lifestyle Magazines
Honors men’s magazines as well as business, science and active-interest publications
Backpacker; Bloomberg Markets; GQ; Popular Mechanics; Scientific American
Special Interest Magazines
Honors magazines serving targeted audiences, including city and regional magazines
Audubon; Los Angeles; San Francisco; Texas Monthly; Time Out New York
DESIGN, PRINT
Esquire; Fortune; GQ; New York; Wired
PHOTOGRAPHY, PRINT
GQ; Martha Stewart Living; National Geographic; The New York Times Magazine; W
NEWS AND DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY
National Geographic; The New York Times Magazine (2); TIME; Virginia Quarterly Review
FEATURE PHOTOGRAPHY
AARP The Magazine; ESPN The Magazine; National Geographic; The New York Times Magazine; W
SINGLE-TOPIC ISSUE
Bloomberg Businessweek; GQ: National Geographic; New York; Scientific American
MAGAZINE SECTION
Esquire; New York; Real Simple (2); Wired
PERSONAL SERVICE
Good Housekeeping; Men’s Health; Men’s Journal; O, The Oprah Magazine; Wired
LEISURE INTERESTS
Cooking Light; Golf Digest; Los Angeles; Men’s Journal; Runner’s World
PUBLIC INTEREST
The Atlantic; Marie Claire; The New Yorker; OnEarth; Texas Monthly
REPORTING
Harper’s Magazine; The New York Times Magazine; The New Yorker; Rolling Stone; Virginia Quarterly Review
FEATURE WRITING
The Atlantic; GQ; Los Angeles; Mother Jones; The New Yorker
PROFILE WRITING
The Atlantic; Harper’s Magazine; New York; The New York Times Magazine; The New Yorker
ESSAYS & CRITICISM
The American Scholar; The Antioch Review; The New Yorker; The Paris Review; Virginia Quarterly Review
COLUMNS & COMMENTARY
Esquire; New York; The New Yorker; Vanity Fair (2) — Winner, Christopher Hitchens
FICTION
The Atlantic; The New Yorker (2); Virginia Quarterly Review (2)
