Martin Schneider writes:
Today we present the New Yorker nominees for the National Magazine Awards in a way that is easier to peruse, followed by some comments about the picks.
GENERAL EXCELLENCE, Circulation 1,000,000 – 2,000,000
The New Yorker was nominated for the issues of February 11 & 18, 2008; May 26, 2008; and November 17, 2008.
REPORTING: Ryan Lizza on how Chicago shaped Barack Obama: “Making It,” July 21, 2008.
FEATURE WRITING: Nick Paumgarten on the lives of elevators: “Up and Then Down,” April 21, 2008
ESSAYS: Roger Rosenblatt on death and family: “Making Toast,” December 15, 2008
COLUMNS and COMMENTARY: Hendrik Hertzberg, Comments on Barack Obama’s visit abroad (“Foreigners,” August 4, 2008), on McCain supporters calling Obama a socialist (“Like, Socialism,” November 3, 2008), and on the passing of Proposition 8 in California (“Eight is Enough,” December 1, 2008)
REVIEWS and CRITICISM: James Wood, Books, on Richard Price and the art of dialogue (“Say What?,” April 7, 2008), on Marilynne Robinson and religion (“The Homecoming,” September 8, 2008), and on the life of V.S. Naipaul (“Wounder and Wounded,” December 1, 2008)
FICTION: Annie Proulx, “Them Old Cowboy Songs,” May 5, 2008; Aleksandar Hemon, “The Noble Truths of Suffering,” September 22, 2008; Roberto Bolaño, “Clara,” August 4, 2008; Joshua Ferris, “The Dinner Party,” August 11, 2008
LEISURE INTERESTS: Patricia Marx, On and Off the Avenue, on shopping in China (“Buy Shanghai!” July 21, 2008), on buying shoes in New York (“Sole Sisters,” September 1, 2008), and on going discount (“The Price is Right,” December 8, 2008)
PHOTO PORTFOLIO: Platon, photographs of the men and women who volunteered to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan, and their families: “Service,” September 29, 2008
It’s a resonant bunch of nominees, ones that found their way into our posts a few times, not to mention our lives. We mentioned Ryan Lizza’s article on Obama’s Chicago years here. I didn’t write about it, but at the New Yorker Festival in 2008, ASME nominee James Wood spoke at length about the nuances of ASME nominee Hendrik Hertzberg’s August 4, 2008, column about Obama’s trip abroad. We discussed Roger Rosenblatt’s essay here (Jonathan and I loved it; Benjamin didn’t); The Platon portfolio made news when Gen. Colin Powell referenced it (without naming the photographer or the magazine) during his Meet the Press endorsement of Barack Obama; we discussed the event here.

Emily Gordon writes:
Quoting from the American Society of Magazine Editors website, the most relevant and, for Emdashes writers and readers, exciting bits (OK, I’m also very happy for my own magazine, Print):
• The New Yorker leads the list of finalists with a total of 10 nominations, including General Excellence, Reporting and Feature Writing. The New Yorker is the most honored magazine in the history of the awards, having received 187 nominations and 47 Ellies.
GENERAL EXCELLENCE: Recognizes overall excellence in magazines in six circulation categories. The award honors the effectiveness with which writing, reporting, editing and design work together to command readers attention and fulfill the magazine’s unique editorial mission.
Circulation 1,000,000 – 2,000,000
Bon Appétit; Field & Stream; The New Yorker; Popular Science; Vogue

[The New Yorker was nominated for the issues of February 11 & 18, 2008; May 26, 2008; and November 17, 2008.]
REPORTING: This category recognizes excellence in reporting. It honors the enterprise, exclusive reporting and intelligent analysis that a magazine exhibits in covering an event, a situation or a problem of contemporary interest and significance.
Fast Company; GQ (2 nominations); The New York Times Magazine; The New Yorker
[Ryan Lizza on how Chicago shaped Barack Obama: “Making It,” July 21, 2008]
FEATURE WRITING: This category recognizes excellence in feature writing. The award honors the stylishness, flair and originality with which the author treats his or her subject.
The Atlantic; Esquire; GQ; Harper’s Magazine; The New Yorker
[Nick Paumgarten on the lives of elevators: “Up and Then Down,” April 21, 2008]
ESSAYS: This category recognizes excellence in essay writing on topics ranging from the personal to the political. Whatever the subject, the award honors the author’s eloquence, perspective, fresh thinking and unique voice.
The Antioch Review; Backpacker; Glamour; Harper’s Magazine; The New Yorker

[Roger Rosenblatt on death and family: “Making Toast,” December 15, 2008]
COLUMNS and COMMENTARY: This category recognizes excellence in short-form political, social, economic or humorous commentary. The award honors the eloquence, force of argument and succinctness with which the writer presents his or her views.
Automobile; The Nation; The New Republic; The New Yorker; Sports Illustrated
[Hendrik Hertzberg, Comments on Barack Obama’s visit abroad (“Foreigners,” August 4, 2008), on McCain supporters calling Obama a socialist (“Like, Socialism,” November 3, 2008), and on the passing of Proposition 8 in California (“Eight is Enough,” December 1, 2008)]
REVIEWS and CRITICISM: This category recognizes excellence in criticism of art, books, movies, television, theater, music, dance, food, dining, fashion, products and the like. The award honors the knowledge, persuasiveness and original voice that the critic brings to his or her reviews.
The Atlantic; The Nation; New York (2 nominations); The New Yorker
[James Wood, Books, on Richard Price and the art of dialogue (“Say What?,” April 7, 2008), on Marilynne Robinson and religion (“The Homecoming,” September 8, 2008), and on the life of V.S. Naipaul (“Wounder and Wounded,” December 1, 2008)]
FICTION: This category recognizes excellence in magazine fiction writing. The award honors the quality of a publication’s literary selections.
The American Scholar; The New Yorker (2 nominations); The Paris Review; The Virginia Quarterly Review
[Annie Proulx, “Them Old Cowboy Songs,” May 5, 2008; Aleksandar Hemon, “The Noble Truths of Suffering,” September 22, 2008; Roberto Bolaño, “Clara,” August 4, 2008; Joshua Ferris, “The Dinner Party,” August 11, 2008]
LEISURE INTERESTS: This category recognizes excellent service journalism about leisure-time pursuits. The practical advice or instruction presented should help readers enjoy hobbies or other recreational interests.
Esquire (2 nominations); Field & Stream; The New Yorker; Texas Monthly
[Patricia Marx, On and Off the Avenue, on shopping in China (“Buy Shanghai!” July 21, 2008), on buying shoes in New York (“Sole Sisters,” September 1, 2008), and on going discount (“The Price is Right,” December 8, 2008)]
PHOTO PORTFOLIO: This category honors creative photography and photo illustration (including portraiture or specially produced layouts on fashion, food, decorating, travel, design, the arts, etc.).
Bon Appétit; GQ; Gourmet; The New Yorker; W
[Platon, photographs of the men and women who volunteered to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan, and their families: “Service,” September 29, 2008]

Martin Schneider writes:
A new issue of The New Yorker comes out tomorrow. Here is a description of its contents.
Jeffrey Toobin profiles the newly appointed junior senator from Illinois, Roland Burris, and examines the scandal surrounding his appointment to the Senate by disgraced Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich.
Ron Chernow traces the evolution of the Ponzi scheme, from Charles Ponzi’s postal-coupon racket to Bernard Madoff’s money-management fraud.
Keith Gessen chronicles the trial this winter, in Moscow, of the men accused of organizing and abetting the murder, on October 7, 2006, of the Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya.
Hendrik Hertzberg looks at how eliminating the payroll tax could help to stimulate the economy.
There is a short story by Tessa Hadley.
John McPhee on the history of lacrosse and how it is played today.
Dan Chiasson reviews Daniel Mendelsohn’s new translations of C. P. Cavafy’s poetry.
Paul Goldberger visits the new stadiums for the Yankees and the Mets.
John Lahr delves into the past with Moisés Kaufman’s 33 Variations and Noël Coward’s Blithe Spirit.
Joan Acocella observes puppetry onstage in New York.
Anthony Lane reviews Tokyo Sonata and The Great Buck Howard.

The Style Issue of The New Yorker comes out tomorrow. Here are the prominent things therein:
D. T. Max goes on set with Tony Gilroy, the screenwriter and director of the upcoming film Duplicity, starring Julia Roberts and Clive Owen.
Lauren Collins interviews the famously reclusive Bill Cunningham as he documents the fashion of New York for his Times column, “On the Street.”
Ariel Levy profiles Alber Elbaz, the designer of the Paris fashion house Lanvin.
Max Vadukul photographs Thakoon Panichgul and Jason Wu, who have both designed dresses for Michelle Obama.
In Shouts & Murmurs, Paul Rudnick reveals the confessions of a Pilgrim shopaholic.
Patricia Marx shops for products made in the U.S.A.
There is a sketchbook by Roz Chast.
John Cassidy writes about Obama’s plans to combat the economic crisis.
Judith Thurman writes about the playwright and novelist Yasmina Reza’s return to Broadway.
John Updike contemplates the end of life in a series of poems.
Sasha Frere-Jones explores the music of Neko Case.
Joan Acocella examines vampires in fiction.
Nancy Franklin reviews the HBO series Eastbound & Down.
Alex Ross visits the newly reopened Alice Tully Hall, at Lincoln Center.
Hilton Als reviews a new production of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town.
David Denby looks at mumblecore movies.

Martin Schneider writes:
I have it running on my computer even as I post this, in my haste to alert you to it, but Dick Cavett, on the space The New York Times allots to him, has posted the full telecast of the October 14, 1981, program of his show, which featured two of America’s finest writers, John Updike and John Cheever, in conversation together. Watch and be enthralled. (Here’s the prior post, which led to this one.)
I don’t think I’ve ever seen Updike on TV before. I find him very appealing; it’s a shame he wasn’t on television more during the 1990s. A commenter on the page notes that they discuss the New Yorker submission process, but I can’t vouch for it. I look forward to the day that Jimmy Fallon invites Cormac McCarthy and Marilynne Robinson on for a chat. Until then, Cavett remains the undisputed champion! And even if he weren’t, the decision to unite a purple jacket and a green shirt would make him champ anyway.
Addendum: The question pertaining to The New Yorker is in the very last minute—well worth a peek!

Martin Schneider writes:
Emily and I have written about our obsessive and undying devotion to The New Yorker‘s stellar political broadcast “The Campaign Trail,” which provided us with comfort, solace, and delight from Iowa all the way to Chicago’s Grant Park and beyond. (I even saw the main recurring members in concert! Sort of.)
According to FishbowlNY, the MPA Digital Awards has named as “Best Podcast Series” of 2008 The New Yorker‘s “The Campaign Trail”! We’d like to congratulate (this is off the top of my head) John Cassidy, Elizabeth Kolbert, David Remnick, Jane Mayer, Jeffrey Toobin, George Packer, Hendrik Hertzberg, Ryan Lizza, and above all, the podcast’s cheerful, focused, and curious moderator, Dorothy Wickenden, for this distinction. I regret if I left anyone out. The year of amusing and insightful talk was a joy to behold.

Martin Schneider writes:

In the New York Times Magazine, Charles McGrath (father of Ben) makes the case that John Cheever is sorely due for a revival. Since he’s better than the recently canonized Richard Yates, this does seem both likely and proper. The success of Mad Men, set in Ossining, Cheever’s hometown, should help.
Meanwhile, the otherwise excellent New York Review of Books brings us Julian Barnes’s fatuous review of the new George Packer editions of George Orwell’s essays. I’m an Orwell nut of long standing, dedicated my (poor) senior thesis to his work, have committed the CEJL to memory (true Orwell fanatics instantly recognize that abbreviation), and grow impatient with Barnes’s denigrating tone and determination to ignore the volumes under review. Both Georges deserve better.

Martin Schneider writes:
It’s common to hear nowadays that the American magazine is doomed. Hearst’s Cathie Black begs to differ, invoking the example of the first years of The New Yorker:

In 1933, a year when every dollar mattered, The New Yorker’s founders, Harold Ross and Raoul Fleischmann, published a Code of Ideals for their magazine. Ignoring the economy, they boldly announced, “Great advertising mediums are operated for the reader first, for profits second.” They got their priorities right: When you truly serve the reader, the advertisers will come.

Those are bracing and inspiring words to hear. You have to admire their guts. No matter how things get, I tend to agree with Black that no matter how bad circumstances get, the industry of selling bits of colored paper with words on them on a weekly, semi-weekly, or monthly basis—is not going to perish anytime soon. I hope I’m right!