Magazines and websites edited and published in the United States are eligible to enter the National Magazine Awards. Other creators and publishers of magazine-like content, including newspapers, newsletters and audio and video production companies, are also eligible to enter.

Entries are subject to the following conditions:

1. Print magazines must have been published at least twice during 2023 and must still be in existence at the end of the year.

2. Digital publications must have been launched before September 1, 2023, and must still be active at the end of the year.

3. Newspapers, newsletters, newsrooms and audio and video production companies, as well as websites associated with radio and television stations and networks, are eligible to enter every category except General Excellence (newsletters may be entered as part of an entry in General Excellence).

4. The following are not eligible to enter the National Magazine Awards: company publications intended primarily for and distributed solely to employees and their associates; marketing and promotional websites; and magazines and websites published in languages other than English and Spanish.

Only chief editors or their equivalents may enter their publication or organization in the National Magazine Awards. No article or photograph may be entered without the approval of the publication in which it appeared. The administrators of the National Magazine Awards reserve the right to determine if an entry is eligible for submission.

The following conditions also apply:

5. Print content must be dated 2023. Entries consisting in whole or in part of print issues may include one issue dated December 2023/January 2024 (but not December 2022/January 2023). Print issues with comparable dates, such as Fall/Winter 2024, may also be included. Entries consisting of two or more articles or examples of work may include one article or example dated January 2024 or an equivalent, such as Winter 2024.

6. Digital content must have been largely produced in 2023. Screenshots may be requested to verify publication dates.

7. Content may be entered in more than one category, but no entry can duplicate an entry in another category (an article or example of work can, for example, be entered alone in one category and as part of a series in a second category but cannot also be entered alone or as part of the same series in a third category).

8. Excerpts from previously published fiction and nonfiction books are not eligible except as part of an entry in General Excellence, Design, Photography and Single-Topic Issue.

9. A website channel may submit entries separately from its parent site if the channel has an independent brand identity.

10. Only one “Ellie” will be awarded to each winner. Media organizations that fund or partner in the publication of a finalist or winner will receive certificates of recognition.

11. Entries found to be in violation of commonly accepted editorial standards, including the ASME Guidelines for Editors and Publishers, may be disqualified at any time.

12. The administrators of the National Magazine Awards may at their own discretion extend the deadline for entry in any category.

See the Rules and Eligibility section for each category for more information.

Entry Statement Each submission must include a three-part statement describing the publication and the entry. Part 1 should describe the editorial mission of the publication and include information about audience size and reader demographics. Part 1 should be no longer than 100 words. Part 2 should provide information about the overall size of the full-time staff as well as its composition by gender and ethnicity. Editors are also encouraged to describe in Part 2 any efforts at their publications to address issues of diversity and inclusion, including representation of the LGBTQ community, in both hiring and assigning. Information about staff size and composition will be provided to judges, who are authorized to use this information when choosing finalists and winners. Disaggregated information will not be disclosed publicly. Part 2 should be no longer than 200 words. Part 3 should describe the entry and explain why it deserves to be recognized. Part 3 may include links to other information, including content related to the entry, as well as examples of reader correspondence or media coverage attesting to the significance of the entry. Any significant challenge to the accuracy or fairness of an entry, including corrections or retractions, must be noted in Part 3. Part 3 should be no longer than 300 words.

Multipart Entries Entries in some categories may consist of as many as three thematically linked articles. Articles published under a common rubric such as “Health” or “Money” do not qualify as thematically linked unless the articles address a specific topic, such as ways to stop smoking or saving for retirement. Entries composed of two or more articles are judged in part on their consistency. Editors may wish to enter a single strong article rather than a series of uneven quality.

Selection of Finalists and Winners Five finalists, including a winner, are traditionally selected in each category by panels of judges chosen by the administrators of the awards in consultation with the members of the ASME Board of Directors. Judges are authorized but not required to choose seven finalists in Reporting, Feature Writing, Profile Writing, Columns and Essays, Reviews and Criticism, and Public Interest. No magazine or website will be nominated more than once in any category except as the partner of a submitting publication. Judges include the chief editors, art directors and photo editors of leading magazines and websites. Most are members of ASME. A list of the judges is published when the winners of the awards are announced.

Judging results 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. PDFs of or links to finalists and winners are distributed after the announcement of the awards. Selected articles are included in The Best American Magazine Writing, published annually by Columbia University Press.