The Best American Magazine Writing 2015

This year's anthology of finalists and winners of the National Magazine Awards includes Ta-Nehisi Coates's much-discussed and debated "The Case For Reparations" (The Atlantic), Amanda Hess's explosive report on Internet sexual harassment (Pacific Standard), John Jeremiah Sullivan's account of the intergenerational effort to solve one of American music's greatest mysteries (New York Times Magazine), and Pamela Colloff's haunting profile of the Texas state employee assigned to witness close to three hundred executions (Texas Monthly). The anthology also features articles chosen from Chris Offutt's savory food writing (Oxford American), Rebecca Traister's acerbic musings on gender politics (New Republic), and Jerry Saltz's fearless art and architectural criticism (New York). Roger Angell offers humorous reflections on life at ninety (The New Yorker); Jody Rosen mourns the dying art of being a London taxi driver who instinctually knows his route (New York Time Magazine); Jeff...

This year’s Best American Magazine Writing features articles on politics, culture, sports, sex, race, celebrity, and more. Selections include Ta-Nehisi Coates’s intensely debated “The Case For Reparations” (The Atlantic) and Monica Lewinsky’s reflections on the public-humiliation complex and how the rules of the game have (and have not) changed (Vanity Fair). Amanda Hess recounts her chilling encounter with Internet sexual harassment (Pacific Standard) and John Jeremiah Sullivan shares his investigation into one of American music’s greatest mysteries (New York Times Magazine). The anthology also presents Rebecca Traister’s acerbic musings on gender politics (The New Republic) and Jerry Saltz’s fearless art criticism (New York). James Verini reconstructs an eccentric love affair against the slow deterioration of Afghanistan in the twentieth century (The Atavist); Roger Angell offers affecting yet humorous reflections on life at ninety-three (The New Yorker); Tiffany Stanley recounts her poignant experience caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s (National Journal); and Jonathan Van Meter takes an entertaining look at fashion’s obsession with being a social-media somebody (Vogue). Brian Phillips describes his surreal adventures in the world of Japanese ritual and culture (Grantland), and Emily Yoffe reveals the unforeseen casualties in the effort to address the college rape crisis (Slate). The collection concludes with a work of fiction by Donald Antrim, exploring the geography of loss. (The New Yorker).

This year’s anthology of finalists and winners of the National Magazine Awards includes Ta-Nehisi Coates’s much-discussed and debated "The Case For Reparations" (The Atlantic), Amanda Hess’s explosive report on Internet sexual harassment (Pacific Standard), John Jeremiah Sullivan’s account of the intergenerational effort to solve one of American music’s greatest mysteries (New York Times Magazine), and Pamela Colloff’s haunting profile of the Texas state employee assigned to witness close to three hundred executions (Texas Monthly). The anthology also features articles chosen from Chris Offutt’s savory food writing (Oxford American), Rebecca Traister’s acerbic musings on gender politics (New Republic), and Jerry Saltz’s fearless art and architectural criticism (New York). Roger Angell offers humorous reflections on life at ninety (The New Yorker); Jody Rosen mourns the dying art of being a London taxi driver who instinctually knows his route (New York Time Magazine); Jeff Sharlet exposes Russia’s unconscionable treatment of homosexuals (GQ); and Emily Yoffe reveals the unforeseen crimes committed in the struggle to address the college rape crisis (Slate). The collection concludes with a work of fiction by Haruki Murakami, who imaginatively plays with the legend of Scheherazade (New Yorker).