Top publications come up empty at National Magazine Awards

The American Society of Magazine Editors inducted former Esquire Editor-in-Chief David Granger into the Magazine Hall of Fame after handing out over two dozen National Magazine Awards virtually for the first time in its history.

But the awards were more notable for which magazines were shut out.

The New Yorker and New York Magazine, which usually jockey with one another for most awards, were left out in the cold this year.

And Matthew Belloni, who resigned as editorial director at The Hollywood Reporter in April after clashing with management, was handed a General Excellence Award for special interests.

The New York Times Magazine Editor Jake Silverstein carried home the most awards, including a General Excellence win in news/sports/entertainment category.

The other General Excellence winners included Adam Rapoport at Bon Appetit and Thomas Lin at Quanta for Literature, Science and Poetry.

Digital nonprofit title The Marshall Project won two.

The awards — looked on as the publishing world’s equivalent of the Oscars — were originally slated to be held at a venue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn before the coronavirus hit.