Login to complete an entry or to access judging materials
One of the most prestigious journalism-awards programs in the United States, the National Magazine Awards honor magazines and websites for editorial and visual excellence as demonstrated by the superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative design. Originally limited to print magazines, the awards now recognize magazine storytelling published in any medium, including newspapers and newsletters. To view the gallery of previous finalists and winners, visit asme.media. First presented in 1966, the National Magazine Awards are sponsored by the American Society of Magazine Editors in association with the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and are administered by ASME. The call for entries is published annually on the third Thursday of September. As many as 250 magazines and websites enter the awards every year, submitting 1,000-plus entries in 18 categories ranging from Reporting and Newsletters to Podcasting and Video. The awards are judged in mid-January by more than 300 writers, editors, art directors, photo editors and educators. The finalists for the National Magazine Awards are announced in February; the 2026 awards are scheduled to be presented in May. Each winner receives a copper “Ellie,” modeled on the symbol of the awards, Alexander Calderʼs 1942 stabile “Elephant Walking.” Solely sponsored by the American Society of Magazine Editors, the ASME Award for Fiction, the ASME Awards for Design, Photography and Illustration and the ASME NEXT Awards for Journalists Under 30 are judged and presented with the National Magazine Awards. The ASME Award for Fiction honors magazines and websites for excellence as demonstrated by three examples of short fiction. The ASME Awards of Design, Photography and Illustration honor individual examples of visual achievement; the awards are currently presented in 12 categories. The ASME NEXT Awards honor outstanding achievement by early-career journalists; five winners are chosen each year. Finalists for the ASME Award for Fiction and the ASME Awards for Design, Photography and Illustration receive certificates of recognition. Winners of the ASME Award for Fiction and the ASME NEXT Awards receive medals depicting “Elephant Walking.” The ASME Awards for Design, Photography and Illustration display the prize-winning work. Selection of Finalists and Winners The results of the judging of the National Magazine Awards are subject to the approval of the National Magazine Awards Board, which is composed of current and former officers of ASME, representatives of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and veteran judges. Awards may be withheld in any category in which the entries fall below the standard of excellence set by the ASME Board of Directors or in which the number of entries is deemed insufficient by the administrators of the awards. The results of the judging of the ASME NEXT, Fiction and Design, Photography and Illustration awards are subject to the approval of the ASME Board of Directors. The Work of the Judges Each judge is assigned two partners who screen the same entries. Judges meet with their judging partners to discuss their assigned entries before the judging begins. Judging groups begin the first day of judging by reviewing judging criteria. Judges in every category have the authority to decide whether an entry is eligible and whether it merits an award. Judges are instructed to evaluate each entry based on their experience and insight as magazine journalists, guided by their knowledge of contemporary standards of editorial excellence. The first measure of excellence for the National Magazine Awards is the successful accomplishment of the editorial mission of the magazine or website. After the judging group has reviewed the judging criteria, judging partners present their evaluations of the entries they have screened. The judging group decides, based on screener evaluations and group discussion, which entries should be eliminated from consideration and which assigned to other judges for further evaluation. Judging groups are expected to identify a long list of potential finalists before the end of the first day of judging. Every member of the judging group is expected to read, view or listen to every potential finalist on the long list before their group reconvenes on Zoom for the second day of judging. After a short list of 10 potential nominees has been selected by the group, the group chooses the 5 finalists in the category. The group then chooses the winner from the finalists. For the purposes of the judging, ASME defines a magazine as a print or digital publication issued or updated regularly in a consistent format, shaped by a distinctive editorial perspective and trusted by readers to provide timely information relevant to their interests. Magazines are usually characterized by the use of print or digital technologies to create a visually rich, immersive experience. Magazine storytelling is distinguished by extensive reporting, informed analysis, stylish writing, a distinctive point of view and the use of graphics to enrich the experience of the reader. Media organizations that do not meet the definition of a magazine but publish magazine storytelling are eligible for awards. A Very Short History of the National Magazine Awards Patrick said at the same time that ASME would, at its first meeting, “discuss again the much-discussed business of magazine awards.” The National Magazine Awards were established soon after by ASME, led by its executive director, Robert E. Kenyon Jr., working with the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. The first National Magazine Award was presented to Look in 1966 "for its skillful editing, imagination and editorial integrity, all of which were reflected particularly in its treatment of the racial issue during 1965." The first award for digital content—the category was called General Excellence in New Media—was won by Money in 1997. Solely sponsored by ASME, the ASME Award for Fiction, the ASME Awards for Design, Photography and Illustration and the ASME NEXT Awards for Journalists Under 30 are now judged and presented with the National Magazine Awards. Honorees are chosen the same way winners of the National Magazine Awards are decided. The ASME Award for Fiction replaced the National Magazine Award for Fiction in 2017. Intended to celebrate the historic link between literary fiction and magazine journalism, the award honors magazines and websites for excellence in fiction as demonstrated by three examples of short fiction. Founded in 2019, the ASME Awards for Design, Photography and Illustration honor magazines and websites for individual examples of visual excellence. The awards celebrate the unique importance of design, photography and illustration to the practice of magazine journalism both in print and online. The ASME NEXT Awards were established in 2015 to support the development of print and digital media by honoring outstanding achievement by early-career journalists. Five honorees are chosen each year and receive medals depicting Alexander Calder’s “Elephant Walking,” the symbol of the National Magazine Awards. The National Magazine Award is a reproduction of Alexander Calder’s “Elephant Walking,” 1942, the copyright for which is held by the Calder Foundation and used with permission. Copyright © 2020 Calder Foundation, New York. Calder® is a registered trademark and
Alison Overholt Founder, Good People LLC | President Sidney Holt Executive Director About ASME
Jelani Cobb Dean and Ira A. Lipman Professor of Journalism About Columbia Journalism School |
™ is a trademark of Calder Foundation, New York.
