To do great writing, read great writing. Here’s the great writing I’m reading this week:
The journalism awards season is upon us. This week the American Society of Magazine Editors announced the 2010 National Magazine Awards finalists. To see what passes for writing excellence these days, check out the pieces on this list. Winners will be announced April 22. A list of nominees for the group’s Digital Media awards is here.
Public Interest
The Boston Review
“A Death in Texas,” by Tom Barry
November/December
National Geographic
“Scraping Bottom,” by Robert Kunzig
March
The New Yorker
“The Cost Conundrum,” by Atul Gawande
June 1
San Francisco
“War of Values,” by Danielle Morton
December
Technology Review
“Dissent Made Safer,” by David Talbot
June
Reporting
The Boston Globe Magazine
A two-part series by Neil Swidey
“Trapped,” August 9; “The Way Out,” August 16
The New York Times Magazine
“The Deadly Choices at Memorial,” by Sheri Fink
August 30
The New Yorker
“Eight Days,” by James B. Stewart
September 21
The New Yorker
“Trial by Fire,” by David Grann
September 7
Vanity Fair
A three-part series
“Madoff’s World,” by Mark Seal, April; “Hello, Madoff!” by Mark Seal and Eleanor Squillari, June; “Ruth’s World,” by Mark Seal, September
Feature Writing
Esquire
“The Last Abortion Doctor,” by John H. Richardson
September
The New York Times Magazine
“The Holy Grail of the Unconscious,” by Sara Corbett
September 20
Texas Monthly
“Still Life,” by Skip Hollandsworth
May
Vanity Fair
“Wall Street on the Tundra,” by Michael Lewis
April
Wired
“Vanish,” by Evan Ratliff
December
Profile Writing
Esquire
“The Man Who Never Was,” by Mike Sager
May
New York
“A Nonfiction Marriage,” by Jonathan Van Meter
May 4
The New Yorker
“Man of Extremes,” by Dana Goodyear
October 26
Vanity Fair
“The Man in the Rockefeller Suit,” by Mark Seal
January
Vanity Fair
“Marc Dreier’s Crime of Destiny,” by Brian Burrough
November
Essays
National Geographic
“Top Ten State Fair Joys,” by Garrison Keillor
July
The New York Times Magazine
“A Journey Through Darkness,” by Daphne Merkin
May 10
The New York Times Magazine
“Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch,” by Michael Pollan
August 2
Orion
“Out West,” by Joe Wilkins
September/October
Sports Illustrated
“And Yet . . . ,” by Mitch Albom
January 12
Columns and Commentary
The Atlantic
For three columns by Megan McArdle
“Sink and Swim,” June; “Misleading Indicator,” November; “Lead Us Not Into Debt,” December
The Economist
For three “Obituary” columns by Ann Wroe
“Danny La Rue,” June 13; “Benson,” August 15; “William Safire,” October 3
Newsweek
For three columns by Fareed Zakaria
“Obama’s Vietnam,” February 9; “The Way Out of Afghanistan,” September 21; “Theocracy and Its Discontents,” June 29
Popular Science
For three “Gray Matter” columns by Theodore Gray
“The Other White Heat.” May; “Gone in a Flash,” September; “Flash Bang,” October
Travel + Leisure
For three columns by Peter Jon Lindberg
“In Defense of Tourism,” January; “Unhappy to Serve You,” September; “Stop the Music!” November
Reviews and Criticism
GQ
For three reviews by Tom Carson
“The Great White Hype,” May; “One Glorious ‘Basterd,'” September; “There’s a Sucker Born Every Minute,” November
Harper’s Magazine
For two reviews by Jonathan Dee
“Suburban Ghetto,” April; “Motherless Children,” September
Los Angeles
For two reviews by Steve Erickson: “The Next Frontier,” January; “War Games,” July
For a review by Steve Erickson: “No Ordinary Fad,” September
The New Yorker
For three reviews by Elizabeth Kolbert
“Green Like Me,” August 31; “Flesh of Your Flesh,” November 9; “Hosed,” November 16
Paste
For three reviews by Rachael Maddux
“Cold Bore,” July; “Brandi, (You’re a Fine Girl),” September; “Just Peachy,” December 2009/January 2010