The National Magazine Awards, also known as the Ellie Awards, honor print and digital publications that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative design. Originally limited to print magazines, the awards now recognize magazine-quality journalism published in any medium. They are sponsored by the American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) in association with Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, and are administered by ASME in New York City. The awards have been presented annually since 1966.
The Ellie Awards are judged by magazine journalists and journalism educators selected by the administrators of the awards. More than 300 judges participate every year. Each judging group chooses five finalists (seven in Reporting and Feature Writing); the same judging group selects one of the finalists to be the winner of the Ellie Award in that category. Judging results are subject to the approval of the National Magazine Awards Board, which is composed of current and former officers of ASME, the dean of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, and veteran judges.
Finalists in each of the Ellie Award categories receive certificates of recognition. The winner in each category receives a reproduction of Alexander Calder's stabile "Elephant", the symbol of the awards since 1970. Among the notable changes for 2017 are the expansion of the Design and Photography categories to include digital entries and the suspension of the Fiction award.
Current categories
General Excellence Honors print and digital magazines in several categories based on content and audience.
Businessweek received the first ever award in 1973. No award was given from 1974 through 1980. When General Excellence returned as a category in 1981, it was given to four magazines per year until 1998, when five magazines received General Excellence awards. Six magazines received awards in 2002. From 2003 to 2010, the award went to seven different magazines and in 2011, to eight. Since 2012, the award has gone to six magazines.
Starting 2016, it is defined into four groups: "News, Sports and Entertainment", "Service and Lifestyle", "Special Interest", "Literature, Science and Politics". {| class="sortable wikitable plainrowheaders" |- ! scope="col" style="width:50px;"|Year ! scope="col" style="width:700px;"|Title |- |align=center| 1973 | Businessweek |- |align=center| 1981 | Glamour, Businessweek, Audubon, ARTnews |- |align=center| 1982 | Science 81, Rocky Mountain, Newsweek, Camera Arts |- |align=center| 1983 | Science 82, Louisiana Life, LIFE, Harper's Magazine |- |align=center| 1984 | Outside, National Geographic, House & Garden, The American Lawyer |- |align=center| 1985 | Manhattan, Inc., American Heritage, American Health, TIME |- |align=center| 1986 | New England Monthly, Money, Discover, 3-2-1 Contact |- |align=center| 1987 | People, New England Monthly, ELLE, Common Cause |- |align=center| 1988 | The Sciences, Parents, Hippocrates, Fortune |- |align=center| 1989 | Vanity Fair, Sports Illustrated, The Sciences, American Heritage |- |align=center| 1990 | Metropolitan Home, 7 Days, Texas Monthly, Sports Illustrated |- |align=center| 1991 | The New Republic, Interview, Glamour, Condé Nast Traveler |- |align=center| 1992 | Texas Monthly, The New Republic, National Geographic, Mirabella |- |align=center| 1993 | Newsweek, Lingua Franca, The Atlantic, American Photo |- |align=center| 1994 | Health, Businessweek, Wired, Print |- |align=center| 1995 | The New Yorker, Men's Journal, I.D., Entertainment Weekly |- |align=center| 1996 | The Sciences, Civilization, Outside, Businessweek |- |align=center| 1997 | I.D., Wired, Vanity Fair, Outside |- |align=center| 1998 | Rolling Stone, Preservation, Outside, DoubleTake |- |align=center| 1999 | Vanity Fair, I.D., Fast Company, Condé Nast Traveler |- |align=center| 2000 | Saveur, The New Yorker, Nest, National Geographic |- |align=center| 2001 | Teen People, The New Yorker, Mother Jones, The American Scholar |- |align=center| 2002 | Vibe, Print, Newsweek, National Geographic Adventure, Entertainment Weekly |- |align=center| 2003 | Texas Monthly, Parenting, Foreign Policy, ESPN The Magazine, The Atlantic, Architectural Record |- |align=center| 2004 | Popular Science, Newsweek, Gourmet, Aperture, Budget Living, Chicago |- |align=center| 2005 | Wired, The New Yorker, Print, Martha Stewart Weddings, Glamour, Dwell |- |align=center| 2006 | The Virginia Quarterly Review, TIME, New York, Harper's Magazine, Esquire, ESPN The Magazine |- |align=center| 2007 | Wired, Rolling Stone, New York, National Geographic, Foreign Policy, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |- |align=center| 2008 |Print, The New Yorker, National Geographic, Mother Jones, GQ, Backpacker |- |align=center| 2009 | Foreign Policy, Field & Stream, Wired, Texas Monthly, Reader's Digest |- |align=center| 2010 | San Francisco, New York, National Geographic, Mother Jones, GQ, Men's Health |- |align=center| 2011 | Women's Health, Scientific American, Garden & Gun, Poetry, New York, LA mag |- |align=center| 2012 | Inc., House Beautiful, IEEE Spectrum, O, The Oprah Magazine, Bloomberg Businessweek |- |align=center| 2013 | The Paris Review, Martha Stewart Weddings, National Geographic, Vogue, Outside |- |align=center| 2014 | New York, Poetry, Inc., Field & Stream, Bon Appétit, Sunset |- |align=center| 2015 | Garden & Gun, Glamour, The Hollywood Reporter, Nautilus Quarterly, The New Yorker, Men's Health |- |align=center| 2016 |New York, Lucky Peach, The Hollywood Reporter, Oxford American |- |align=center| 2017 |ESPN The Magazine, Bon Appétit, Modern Farmer, The Marshall Project |- |align=center| 2018 |The New Yorker, The New York Times Style Magazine, San Francisco, Aperture |- |align=center| 2019 |National Geographic, The New York Times Style Magazine, Kazoo, Virginia Quarterly Review |- |align=center| 2020 |The New York Times Magazine, Bon Appétit, The Hollywood Reporter, Quanta |- |align=center| 2021 |The New Yorker, The New York Times Style Magazine, Audubon, Stranger’s Guide |- | align="center" |2022 |The Atlantic, Harper's Bazaar, Car and Driver, Stranger's Guide |- | align="center" |2023 |The Atlantic, Cook's Illustrated, The Marshall Project, Grist |- | align="center" |2024 |The Atlantic, Highsnobiety, The Marshall Project, The Yale Review |- | align="center" |2025 |ProPublica, Esquire, STAT, Mother Jones
Design Previously known as Visual Excellence (1970–1979). Honors overall excellence in print magazine design. Merged with Photography in 2019.
YearTitle 1970Look 1971Vogue 1972Esquire 1973Horizon 1974Newsweek 1975Country Journal and National Lampoon 1976Horticulture 1977Rolling Stone 1978Architectural Digest 1979Audubon 1980GEO 1981Attenzione 1982Nautical Quarterly 1983New York 1984House & Garden 1985Forbes 1986TIME 1987ELLE 1988LIFE 1989Rolling Stone 1990Esquire 1991Condé Nast Traveler 1992Vanity Fair 1993Harper's Bazaar 1994Allure 1995Martha Stewart Living 1996Wired 1997I.D. Magazine 1998Entertainment Weekly 1999ESPN The Magazine 2000Fast Company 2001Nest 2002Details 2003Details 2004Esquire 2005Kids: Fun Stuff to Do Together 2006New York 2007New York 2008Wired 2009Wired 2010Wired 2011GQ 2012GQ 2013TIME 2014New York 2015New York 2016Wired 2017The California Sunday Magazine 2018GQ 2020Bon Appétit 2021National Geographic 2022National Geographic 2023GQ 2024Rest of World2025New York Times Opinion
Photography Honors overall excellence in print magazine photography. Merged with Design in 2019.
YearMagazine 1985 LIFE 1986 Vogue 1987 National Geographic 1988Rolling Stone 1989 National Geographic 1990 Texas Monthly 1991 National Geographic 1992 National Geographic 1993 Harper's Bazaar 1994 Martha Stewart Living 1995Rolling Stone 1996 Saveur 1997 National Geographic 1998 W 1999 Martha Stewart Living 2000 Vanity Fair 2001 National Geographic 2002 Vanity Fair 2003Condé Nast Traveler 2004 City 2005 Gourmet 2006 W 2007 National Geographic 2008 Gourmet 2009 GQ 2010 Vanity Fair 2011 W 2012 Vogue 2013National Geographic 2014 Bon Appétit 2015 National Geographic 2016The California Sunday Magazine 2017The California Sunday Magazine 2018W2020National Geographic2021Stranger's Guide2022Essence2023Smithsonian2024New York2025The New Yorker
Design and Photography Merged from two former categories. Divided awards into "News and Opinion" – Honors the visual excellence of print and digital magazines covering politics, business, technology and entertainment. – and "Service and Lifestyle" – Honors the visual excellence of print and digital magazines covering fashion, food, travel and design.
YearMagazine(s) 2019Wired, GQ Style
Feature Photography Previously known as Photo Portfolio/Photo Essay (2004–2006) and Photo Portfolio (2007–2010). Honors the use of original photography in a feature story, photo-essay or photo portfolio. Incorporated in Photography in 2022. No separate category starting in 2023.
YearMagazineArticle(s)Author(s)Editor 2004 W"The Kate Moss Portfolio", SeptemberPatrick McCarthy, chairman and editorial director Dennis Freedman, vice chairman and creative director 2005 TIME"The Tragedy of Sudan", October 4By James NachtweyJames Kelly, managing editor Arthur Hochstein, art director 2006 Rolling Stone"The Edge of the World", November 17By Sebastiao SalgadoJann S. Wenner, editor and publisher Will Dana, managing editor 2007 City"White Heat", AprilBy Horacio SalinasJohn McDonald, editorial director and publisher; Fabrice G. Frere, creative director and COO 2008 Vanity Fair"Killers Kill, Dead Men Die: A 2007 Hollywood Portfolio", MarchBy Annie Leibovitz and Michael RobertsGraydon Carter, editor David Harris, design director 2009 The New Yorker"Service", September 29By PlatonDavid Remnick, editor Elisabeth Biondi, visuals editor 2010 The New Yorker"Portraits of Power", December 7Photographs by PlatonDavid Remnick, editor 2011 ESPN The Magazine"Bodies We Want", October 18Reporting by Morty AinGary Belsky, editor in chief 2012 The New York Times Magazine"Vamps, Crooks & Killers", December 11Photographs by Alex Prager, Introduction by A.O. ScottHugo Lindgren, editor in chief 2013 W"Good Kate, Bad Kate", MarchFeature by Will Self, Photographs by Steven KleinStefano Tonchi, editor in chief 2014 W"Stranger Than Paradise", MayPhotographs by Tim WalkerStefano Tonchi, editor in chief 2015 TIME"Crime Without Punishment", July 24Photographs by Jerome SessiniNancy Gibbs, editor 2016Politico"Front Row at the Political Theater", November/ DecemberPhotographs by Mark PetersonSusan B. Glasser, editor in chief 2017Pacific Standard"Adrift", July/ AugustPhotographs by Francesco ZizolaNicholas Jackson, editor in chief2018The New Yorker"Faces of an Epidemic", October 30Photographs by Philip MontgomeryDavid Remnick, editor2019W"Cate",Photographs by Cass Bird, Rineke Dijkstra, Dominique Issermann, Shirin Neshat, Jackie Nickerson, Sharna Osborne, Alex Prager, Viviane Sassen and Sam Taylor-JohnsonStefano Tonchi, editor in chief2020National Geographic“The Immortal Corpse”Photographs by Lynn JohnsonSusan Goldberg, editor in chief2021The New Yorker"Whose Streets"Photographs by Isaac ScottDavid Remnick, editor
Single-Topic Issue Honors publications that have devoted a single print issue or a major digital package to the comprehensive examination of one subject No award was given in 2000 or 2001.
YearMagazine Article(s)Editor(s) 1979 Progressive Architecture"Taste in America"John Morris Dixon, chief editor 1980 Scientific American"The Brain"Dennis Flanagan, editor 1981 Businessweek "The Reindustrialization of America", by William Wolman and team