Best American Magazine Writing 2013

A perennial hit, our Best American Magazine Writing chooses from the nominees and winners of the coveted National Magazine Awards. Selections belong to the categories of public interest reporting, features, criticism, commentary, and fiction. This year's selections include Iraqi War veteran Brian Mockenhaupt ( Byliner) on modern combat in Afghanistan and its ability to both forge and challenge friendships; Mac McClelland's ( GQ) on his nightmarish stint picking and packing at an online shipping warehouse; Daniel Alarcn ( Harper's Magazine) on the strange social and political dynamics of Peru's most infamous prison; Melissadel Bosque March ( Texas Observer) on the secret dealings of Mexico's deadliest smuggling corridor; Ta-Nehisi Coates ( The Atlantic) on the complex racial terrain traversed by African American politicans; and Frank Rich ( New York) on the late Nora Ephron and her invaluable contribution to American culture.

A perennial hit, our Best American Magazine Writing chooses from the nominees and winners of the coveted National Magazine Awards. Selections belong to the categories of public interest reporting, features, criticism, commentary, and fiction. This year’s selections include Iraqi War veteran Brian Mockenhaupt (Byliner) on modern combat in Afghanistan and its ability to both forge and challenge friendships; Mac McClelland’s (GQ) on his nightmarish stint picking and packing at an online shipping warehouse; Daniel Alarcón (Harper’s Magazine) on the strange social and political dynamics of Peru’s most infamous prison; Melissadel Bosque March (Texas Observer) on the secret dealings of Mexico’s deadliest smuggling corridor; Ta-Nehisi Coates (The Atlantic) on the complex racial terrain traversed by African American politicians; and Frank Rich (New York) on the late Nora Ephron and her invaluable contribution to American culture.

Chosen by the American Society of Magazine Editors, the stories in this anthology include National Magazine Award-winning works of public interest, reporting, feature writing, and fiction. This year's selections include Pamela Colloff ( Texas Monthly ) on the agonizing, decades-long struggle by a convicted murderer to prove his innocence; Dexter Filkins ( The New Yorker ) on the emotional effort by an Iraq War veteran to make amends for the role he played in the deaths of innocent Iraqis; Chris Jones ( Esquire ) on Robert A. Caro's epic, ongoing investigation into the life and work of Lyndon Johnson; Charles C. Mann ( Orion ) on the odds of human beings' survival as a species; and Roger Angell ( The New Yorker ) on aging, dying, and loss. The former infantryman Brian Mockenhaupt (Byliner) describes modern combat in Afghanistan and its ability both to forge and challenge friendships; Ta-Nehisi Coates ( The Atlantic ) reflects on the complex racial terrain traversed by Barack Obama; Frank Rich ( New York ) assesses Mitt Romney's ambiguous candidacy; and Dahlia Lithwick ( Slate ) looks at the current and future implications of an eventful year in Supreme Court history. The volume also includes an interview on the art of screenwriting with Terry Southern from The Paris Revie w and an award-winning short story by Stephen King published in Harper's magazine.