F&S Website a Finalist For National Magazine Digital Award

The National Magazine Awards, or the "Ellies" are sort of the magazine equivalent of the Pulitzers. For the past few years the Field & Stream print mag has been a finalist in several categories, and in 2009 it finally won its first Ellie. It was also arguably the most prestigious, the one given for general excellence.

Despite the fact that the trophy itself (above) looks more like a Klingon battle ax than a literary award, it was a big honor and I was of course excited for everyone at the magazine, but at the same time I must admit that excitement was tinged with a wee bit of melancholy. I don't write for the print side and therefore couldn't - even on an ancillary and/or self-illusory level (a level I'm quite comfortable with) - bask in the collective glory.

Well, the list of the 2010 Digital Ellie finalists was released yesterday. My editor forwarded the press release to me and lo and behold, there we were...

General Excellence, Digital Media

Honors the best magazines published on digital platforms; the award is presented in two categories based on content and audience
News and Opinion: The Atlantic; The Daily Beast; The New York Times Magazine; Slate; Wired.com
Service and Lifestyle: Epicurious; Field & Stream; POZ; Runner’s World; SELF

So I did what any self-respecting, attention-craving, accolade-seeking self-promoting writer would do: I immediately e-mailed my editor to ask if F&S actually won the award could I then claim to be "part of a National Magazine Award-winning team?" To which he replied "give me a hundred bucks and you can say whatever you want."

OK, so I made up that last part. Other than the multitude of blogs I crank out, it's not like I'm an integral part of the website or anything but hey, it's a dog-eat-dog world so you gotta grab whatever ancillary and/or self-illusory glory you can, right? Winners will be announced on March 16, and I'd sure appreciate any incense and/or livestock you see fit to burn and/or sacrifice on the website's behalf...