The 2019 Best American Magazine Writing Edited by Sid Holt for The American Society of Magazine Editors

The 2019 Best American Magazine Writing Edited by Sid Holt for The American Society of Magazine Editors

this year has an introduction by Adam Moss. Mr. Moss explains his profound, big love for magazines since he was very little and how, the opportunity to find in various places magazines to be read, with their own differentiations was to him reason for being happy and constantly informed. What read Moss were beautiful magazines: from the New York to the Esquire. Later Moss worked in the journalistic sector.

To him every single age of the journalism with troubles, with problems that the profession has always had, is the goden age; from the richest golden age one, passing through this age, characterized by the advent of the net. In this sense Moss describes very well the birth of the net and the hope for the future. Not only but also the diffidence developed after a while by reporters and editors; the collapse   progressively more rapid of a solid world, with solid certainties. 

The disgregation of many realities; the death of wagons of little magazines because simply people, stores, brands big and little, were not interested anymore to seeing their publicity in a printed magazine. Not only: readers became less loyal with their favorite magazine; news could be found in the net.

Some big realities thought that investing in online editions would have paid much more. It was the beginning of the end as the journalistic profession was known and a new start; the beginning of something new: for this reason for Moss also this one is the golden age of journalism, ready for new fights that must be won. After all it's impossible to disagree: we will continue to reporting what happen in this world in every possible way.

This series born in 2000 in 2005  started to be published by Columbia University Press, although the story of this prize is more old: the 1960s! This prize was born for being a sort of counterpart of the Pulitzer Prize. What this award have always searched is this: what makes magazines special? It sounds a simple question but behind this question there is never a simple answer. Using this criteria this year 275 realities entered the National Magazine Award. 300 judges, 67 organizations received nominations led by the New Yorker with nine.

Reportage, opinions, commentary, there is all you can want; this edition portrays the historical moment with all its contradictions. 

We find in the book articles of ProPublica copublished with New York, the Marshall Project, the New Yorker, The Atlantic, but also the National Geographic, Mc Sweeney's. Pieces are about policy, gender, prison, possibility of a different destiny leaving old and dangerous friends behind (with weird surprises in the while), ecology, death.

Enjoy the reading, magazine lover!

Highly recommended.

I thank Columbia University Press for the physical copy of this book.

Anna Maria Polidori