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The Best American Magazine Writing 2019
The Best American Magazine Writing 2019 presents articles honored by this year’s National Magazine Awards, showcasing outstanding writing that addresses urgent topics such as justice, gender, power, and violence, both at home and abroad. The anthology features remarkable reporting, including the story of a teenager who tried to get out of MS-13, only to face deportation ( ProPublica ); an account of the genocide against the Rohingya in Myanmar ( Politico ); and a sweeping California Sunday Magazine profile of an agribusiness empire. Other journalists explore the indications of environmental catastrophe, from invasive lionfish ( Smithsonian ) to the omnipresence of plastic ( National Geographic ).
Personal pieces consider the toll of mass incarceration, including Reginald Dwayne Betts’s “Getting Out” ( New York Times Magazine ); “This Place Is Crazy,” by John J. Lennon ( Esquire ); and Robert Wright’s “Getting Out of Prison Meant Leaving Dear Friends Behind” ( Marshall Project with Vice ). From the pages of the Atlantic and the New Yorker , writers and critics discuss prominent political Franklin Foer’s “American Hustler” explores Paul Manafort’s career of corruption; Jill Lepore recounts the emergence of Ruth Bader Ginsburg; and Caitlin Flanagan and Doreen St. Félix reflect on the Kavanaugh hearings and #MeToo. Leslie Jamison crafts a portrait of the Museum of Broken Relationships ( Virginia Quarterly Review ), and Kasey Cordell and Lindsey B. Koehler ponder “The Art of Dying Well” ( 5280 ). A pair of never-before-published conversations illuminates the state of the American New Yorker writer Ben Taub speaks to Eric Sullivan of Esquire about pursuing a career as a reporter, alongside Taub’s piece investigating how the Iraqi state is fueling a resurgence of ISIS. And Karolina Waclawiak of BuzzFeed News interviews McSweeney’s editor Claire Boyle about challenges and opportunities for fiction at small magazines. That conversation is inspired by McSweeney’s winning the ASME Award for Fiction, which is celebrated here with a story by Lesley Nneka Arimah, a magical-realist tale charged with feminist allegory.
Personal pieces consider the toll of mass incarceration, including Reginald Dwayne Betts’s “Getting Out” ( New York Times Magazine ); “This Place Is Crazy,” by John J. Lennon ( Esquire ); and Robert Wright’s “Getting Out of Prison Meant Leaving Dear Friends Behind” ( Marshall Project with Vice ). From the pages of the Atlantic and the New Yorker , writers and critics discuss prominent political Franklin Foer’s “American Hustler” explores Paul Manafort’s career of corruption; Jill Lepore recounts the emergence of Ruth Bader Ginsburg; and Caitlin Flanagan and Doreen St. Félix reflect on the Kavanaugh hearings and #MeToo. Leslie Jamison crafts a portrait of the Museum of Broken Relationships ( Virginia Quarterly Review ), and Kasey Cordell and Lindsey B. Koehler ponder “The Art of Dying Well” ( 5280 ). A pair of never-before-published conversations illuminates the state of the American New Yorker writer Ben Taub speaks to Eric Sullivan of Esquire about pursuing a career as a reporter, alongside Taub’s piece investigating how the Iraqi state is fueling a resurgence of ISIS. And Karolina Waclawiak of BuzzFeed News interviews McSweeney’s editor Claire Boyle about challenges and opportunities for fiction at small magazines. That conversation is inspired by McSweeney’s winning the ASME Award for Fiction, which is celebrated here with a story by Lesley Nneka Arimah, a magical-realist tale charged with feminist allegory.
480 pages, Paperback
First published December 10, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 20, 2019
I’ve always loved the Best American collections. They’re a fantastic way to discover new or new to you writers and incredible work you may have missed over the year. This was my first time reading Best American Magazines but I adored it!
Even if you love magazines like me, it’s impossible to read every great article. This collection is full of award nominated and winning pieces from a wide variety of sources, online and paper, regional and national. Often when reading any type of anthology, some pieces will stand out and others will be not so good or even hard to get through. Best American Magazines 2019 is so expertly curated that there’s not a single dud in the bunch. In my mind and as the editor himself says in the introduction, journalism is in a new sort of golden age with an unprecedented amount of diverse writers writing about diverse topics. We see this prominently in this collection which includes two pieces by formerly incarcerated authors looking at the prison industrial complex and life after, a story on immigration, one on the end of life, and so many other unique and worthwhile reads.
I initially considered writing a sentence or two about each piece in this collection but there’s 17 and they’re all so unique and worthwhile. I think different pieces will stand out or feel more meaningful and important to different people. For me, someone who majored in Middle East Studies and who is deeply fascinated in the region, the piece I felt most grateful to read was Ben Taub’s Shallow Graves about the aftermath of the defeat of ISIS in Iraq. It was such a devastating and heartbreaking piece and something, even as someone who reads extensively in the region and with a special interest in terrorism and counterterrorism, I was completely unaware of. Ben Taub writes about the lawless nature of how the corrupt Iraqi government is dealing with people who had been associated with ISIS and frankly, endless numbers of innocents who are getting caught up in this attempt to render justice. I think my jaw dropped reading this piece. I had nightmares. It really affected me.
I was also so stunned by the final piece, Skinned by Lesley Nneka Arimah, a Nigerian woman author, the lone fiction piece in the collection. It looks at women and agency versus being controlled by men, their bodies, their freedom or lack thereof, and the societal effects. I think this is a story that will stick with me for a long time. It was absolutely stunning and I would recommend it to absolutely everyone. Truly short fiction at its absolute finest. I can’t wait to get my hands on her short story collection What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky.
Other notable pieces for me were Hannah Drier’s A Betrayal about a teen who so desperately sought to escape his connection to the MS-13 gang and was screwed over in the end by the cops and FBI and instead of being protected was sent back to his home country by ICE to a certain death. I also gained a lot from both Robert Wright and Reginald Dwayne Betts pieces on incarceration and their lives and struggles afterwards. I was also surprised by how much I both learned and enjoyed from Jeff MacGregor’s Taming the Lionfish about the ecosystem threatening abundance of the Lionfish and how various passionate and dedicated Floridians are working to do what they can about the situation.
Truly an outstanding collection of pieces all around and I could honestly rave about each and every piece. Highly recommended for fellow journalism and nonfiction lovers. And check out that Lesley Nneka Arimah story!
Even if you love magazines like me, it’s impossible to read every great article. This collection is full of award nominated and winning pieces from a wide variety of sources, online and paper, regional and national. Often when reading any type of anthology, some pieces will stand out and others will be not so good or even hard to get through. Best American Magazines 2019 is so expertly curated that there’s not a single dud in the bunch. In my mind and as the editor himself says in the introduction, journalism is in a new sort of golden age with an unprecedented amount of diverse writers writing about diverse topics. We see this prominently in this collection which includes two pieces by formerly incarcerated authors looking at the prison industrial complex and life after, a story on immigration, one on the end of life, and so many other unique and worthwhile reads.
I initially considered writing a sentence or two about each piece in this collection but there’s 17 and they’re all so unique and worthwhile. I think different pieces will stand out or feel more meaningful and important to different people. For me, someone who majored in Middle East Studies and who is deeply fascinated in the region, the piece I felt most grateful to read was Ben Taub’s Shallow Graves about the aftermath of the defeat of ISIS in Iraq. It was such a devastating and heartbreaking piece and something, even as someone who reads extensively in the region and with a special interest in terrorism and counterterrorism, I was completely unaware of. Ben Taub writes about the lawless nature of how the corrupt Iraqi government is dealing with people who had been associated with ISIS and frankly, endless numbers of innocents who are getting caught up in this attempt to render justice. I think my jaw dropped reading this piece. I had nightmares. It really affected me.
I was also so stunned by the final piece, Skinned by Lesley Nneka Arimah, a Nigerian woman author, the lone fiction piece in the collection. It looks at women and agency versus being controlled by men, their bodies, their freedom or lack thereof, and the societal effects. I think this is a story that will stick with me for a long time. It was absolutely stunning and I would recommend it to absolutely everyone. Truly short fiction at its absolute finest. I can’t wait to get my hands on her short story collection What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky.
Other notable pieces for me were Hannah Drier’s A Betrayal about a teen who so desperately sought to escape his connection to the MS-13 gang and was screwed over in the end by the cops and FBI and instead of being protected was sent back to his home country by ICE to a certain death. I also gained a lot from both Robert Wright and Reginald Dwayne Betts pieces on incarceration and their lives and struggles afterwards. I was also surprised by how much I both learned and enjoyed from Jeff MacGregor’s Taming the Lionfish about the ecosystem threatening abundance of the Lionfish and how various passionate and dedicated Floridians are working to do what they can about the situation.
Truly an outstanding collection of pieces all around and I could honestly rave about each and every piece. Highly recommended for fellow journalism and nonfiction lovers. And check out that Lesley Nneka Arimah story!
December 17, 2019
As indicated, this book does contain the Best American Magazine Writing 2019. All seventeen stories are winners or finalists in prestigious writing competitions.
The stories are all non-fiction. The subjects vary from porn presidents to life in prison to end of life choices.
My personal favorite is “How to be an Artist” that contains 35 rules to make a life for yourself in art. I am still imagining what my life totem would look like. Obviously, it would have quite a few books incorporated in it—just like my life.
If you enjoy watching documentaries or news magazine shows, Best American Magazine Writing 2019 is a good choice. The stories are interesting and varied. 4 stars!
Thanks to Columbia University Press and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.
The stories are all non-fiction. The subjects vary from porn presidents to life in prison to end of life choices.
My personal favorite is “How to be an Artist” that contains 35 rules to make a life for yourself in art. I am still imagining what my life totem would look like. Obviously, it would have quite a few books incorporated in it—just like my life.
If you enjoy watching documentaries or news magazine shows, Best American Magazine Writing 2019 is a good choice. The stories are interesting and varied. 4 stars!
Thanks to Columbia University Press and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.
August 5, 2025
This was a white whale of a book for me to finish but it's FINALLY DONE and the verdict? Overall not bad, but not the most incredible it could have been. Still, many pieces in here are worth the read so I'll give some thoughts below:
A Betrayal - 5
Great storytelling, and a frustrating look into the carceral system we have in America. It's worth learning more about the main boy in the story and what happened after this article ends but you can't help but read this and *feel* something for him. Empathy? Frustration? Anger? Probably an inseparable mix.
American Hustler - 4.5.
LOVE me a good political profile.
Kingdom of Dust - 5
An incredible look into some of the least appreciated and most influential people in California and America. Great storytelling, vast research and scope, executed perfectly. This was on the Best list my friend and I compiled and it lives up to the hype.
Shallow Graves - 5
Again, incredible storytelling and execution. Lots of admiration for journalism like this where your body and mind are both at stake but the need to tell the story is far greater.
The Genocide the US Didn't See Coming - 5
Wonderfully done, well-researched, and really forces you to consider what you would do in this context. We can all, I hope, agree that genocide is bad but how do you prevent one? At what cost?
We Made It. We Depend On It. We're Drowning In It. - 3
Meh. Too short and prescriptive for me
The First Porn President - 2
Journalism about Trump and SCOTUS almost always miss the mark. These are no exception. Too flat, too discursive.
Misjudged - 2
See above. Valid points but not a compelling narrative. Insightful but dull.
The National Geographic Twins - 2
Short and formulaic.
This Place is Crazy - 4
A useful piece on incarceration. It set the standard for the next few pieces although I think it was cut too short.
Getting Out of Prison - 3
See above
Getting Out - 4
A well-done story but I wish it had more informative statistics to really cement the impact more concretely.
How to Be An Artist - 3.5
Not bad for it's format, but.. it is a list.
The Art of Dying Well - 2
Hate it when a title is good and the actual article is bad.. too many asides and parts for a short piece.
Taming the Lionfish - 3.5
Fun and imaginative! Some stats but it left me wanting more
The Breakup Museum - 4
Super unique topic, and almost lived up to its full potential. Still, great piece and worth reading. Just.. would love it to be a tad longer and deeper
Skinned - 4.5
Great execution on a really multi-layered allegorical story.
A Betrayal - 5
Great storytelling, and a frustrating look into the carceral system we have in America. It's worth learning more about the main boy in the story and what happened after this article ends but you can't help but read this and *feel* something for him. Empathy? Frustration? Anger? Probably an inseparable mix.
American Hustler - 4.5.
LOVE me a good political profile.
Kingdom of Dust - 5
An incredible look into some of the least appreciated and most influential people in California and America. Great storytelling, vast research and scope, executed perfectly. This was on the Best list my friend and I compiled and it lives up to the hype.
Shallow Graves - 5
Again, incredible storytelling and execution. Lots of admiration for journalism like this where your body and mind are both at stake but the need to tell the story is far greater.
The Genocide the US Didn't See Coming - 5
Wonderfully done, well-researched, and really forces you to consider what you would do in this context. We can all, I hope, agree that genocide is bad but how do you prevent one? At what cost?
We Made It. We Depend On It. We're Drowning In It. - 3
Meh. Too short and prescriptive for me
The First Porn President - 2
Journalism about Trump and SCOTUS almost always miss the mark. These are no exception. Too flat, too discursive.
Misjudged - 2
See above. Valid points but not a compelling narrative. Insightful but dull.
The National Geographic Twins - 2
Short and formulaic.
This Place is Crazy - 4
A useful piece on incarceration. It set the standard for the next few pieces although I think it was cut too short.
Getting Out of Prison - 3
See above
Getting Out - 4
A well-done story but I wish it had more informative statistics to really cement the impact more concretely.
How to Be An Artist - 3.5
Not bad for it's format, but.. it is a list.
The Art of Dying Well - 2
Hate it when a title is good and the actual article is bad.. too many asides and parts for a short piece.
Taming the Lionfish - 3.5
Fun and imaginative! Some stats but it left me wanting more
The Breakup Museum - 4
Super unique topic, and almost lived up to its full potential. Still, great piece and worth reading. Just.. would love it to be a tad longer and deeper
Skinned - 4.5
Great execution on a really multi-layered allegorical story.
August 17, 2019
In the Introduction Adam Moss is worried about magazine-journalism in the age of the internet. There are many other kinds of journals around: short and medium-form written articles, photo-journalism, Twitter, Instagram etc. – it’s a question if magazine writing even exist in 2019. The book tries to prove that it does, and it’s a great collection of long-form articles from American journals.
The selected topics are about economy, politics, wars, #metoo, black guys in prison, etc., which is OK, but I’m not equally interested in all of these. In general, I found the first half of the book more interesting than the second.
First, A Kingdom from Dust is about a billionaire couple, who made a fortune by growing fruits in California with Mexican workers, and there’s an interesting twist about the water they used in the orchards. Shallow Graves is the actual best article in the book: I wasn’t aware of the situation in Iraq after ISIS. It’s a deep and moving article about the fate of the people, who remained in cities, which were occupied before by the Islamic State – and now they have to face the revenge of Iraq. The Genocide the U.S. Didn’t See Coming is about the rohingyas – again an important topic and a pretty good item.
There’s a National Geographic article about plastics – I’m not a huge fan of NG, nor this article is dramatic enough. The First Porn President, and changes is racism, mandatory subjects in 2019, but it seems the editor selected the most important topics instead of the best articles…
At the end, I enjoyed the prison-stories, but I wasn’t interested how can I die the best way in Columbia. Lionfishes and a Breakup Museum in Zagreb – a big step from the shallow graves, and at last a fictional story about a society, where non-married woman has to be naked on the street.
I don’t think these were the best magazine articles from the last year, but it’s a very good selection with important topics and interesting articles. Magazine journalism is definitely alive, and this book is a good source to see which journals I may read regularly.
The selected topics are about economy, politics, wars, #metoo, black guys in prison, etc., which is OK, but I’m not equally interested in all of these. In general, I found the first half of the book more interesting than the second.
First, A Kingdom from Dust is about a billionaire couple, who made a fortune by growing fruits in California with Mexican workers, and there’s an interesting twist about the water they used in the orchards. Shallow Graves is the actual best article in the book: I wasn’t aware of the situation in Iraq after ISIS. It’s a deep and moving article about the fate of the people, who remained in cities, which were occupied before by the Islamic State – and now they have to face the revenge of Iraq. The Genocide the U.S. Didn’t See Coming is about the rohingyas – again an important topic and a pretty good item.
There’s a National Geographic article about plastics – I’m not a huge fan of NG, nor this article is dramatic enough. The First Porn President, and changes is racism, mandatory subjects in 2019, but it seems the editor selected the most important topics instead of the best articles…
At the end, I enjoyed the prison-stories, but I wasn’t interested how can I die the best way in Columbia. Lionfishes and a Breakup Museum in Zagreb – a big step from the shallow graves, and at last a fictional story about a society, where non-married woman has to be naked on the street.
I don’t think these were the best magazine articles from the last year, but it’s a very good selection with important topics and interesting articles. Magazine journalism is definitely alive, and this book is a good source to see which journals I may read regularly.
March 10, 2020
For someone who is newly interested in magazine journalism, this was an illuminating read. I loved to see all the different styles of writing side by side. Though some of the stories were not my favorite, there were many that I really enjoyed.
My favorites were:
- A Betrayal by Hannah Dreier
In which a undocumented kid trying to escape gang life informs the police and then is deported back to almost-certain death.
- Shallow Graves by Ben Taub
Aout people who lived in ISIS occupied territories and are now being systematically arrested by Iraq. What makes it so painful and raw are the actual encounters that Taub has with these (usually innocent) people.
- We Made It. We Depend on It. We're Drowning in It. Plastic by Laura Parker.
This is exactly what it sounds like from the title.
- The National Geographic Twins and the Falsehood of Our Post-Racial Future by Doreen St. Félix
Critiques the ideals of a "mixed race" future by taking a look at the racism of the present
- This Place is Crazy by John J. Lennon
One of the three stories written by inmates, Lennon examines the shoddy way America's prisons treat mentally ill inmates.
- Taming the Lionfish by Jeff MacGregor
Half invasive-species exposé and half charmingly written fishing adventure. I really enjoyed it.
- The Breakup Museum by Leslie Jamison
Jamison takes us on a visual tour of the eclectic breakup museum while also giving us the museum's backstory.
*I was provided this book for free by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
My favorites were:
- A Betrayal by Hannah Dreier
In which a undocumented kid trying to escape gang life informs the police and then is deported back to almost-certain death.
- Shallow Graves by Ben Taub
Aout people who lived in ISIS occupied territories and are now being systematically arrested by Iraq. What makes it so painful and raw are the actual encounters that Taub has with these (usually innocent) people.
- We Made It. We Depend on It. We're Drowning in It. Plastic by Laura Parker.
This is exactly what it sounds like from the title.
- The National Geographic Twins and the Falsehood of Our Post-Racial Future by Doreen St. Félix
Critiques the ideals of a "mixed race" future by taking a look at the racism of the present
- This Place is Crazy by John J. Lennon
One of the three stories written by inmates, Lennon examines the shoddy way America's prisons treat mentally ill inmates.
- Taming the Lionfish by Jeff MacGregor
Half invasive-species exposé and half charmingly written fishing adventure. I really enjoyed it.
- The Breakup Museum by Leslie Jamison
Jamison takes us on a visual tour of the eclectic breakup museum while also giving us the museum's backstory.
*I was provided this book for free by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
November 17, 2019
Lots of great stuff.
The tragic story of a teenage boy in Virginia who was forced to inform on MS-13 and then thrown under the bus because he was undocumented.
A history of shady Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who is basically revealed to be a cuck, slobbering over oligarchs to maintain a lavish lifestyle for his wife, mistress and ungrateful bimbo daughter.
A profile of Stewart and Lynda Resnick, the billionaire owners of The Wonderful Company (POM pomegranates, pistachios, almonds, halo mandarins and Fiji Water). Agriculture today isn't about small farms. It's large agribusiness corporations that require massive amounts of water, taxpayer subsidies and shameless marketing.
A trip to former ISIS territory by a Voice contestant who used his prize money to become a journalist.
The tragic story of a teenage boy in Virginia who was forced to inform on MS-13 and then thrown under the bus because he was undocumented.
A history of shady Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who is basically revealed to be a cuck, slobbering over oligarchs to maintain a lavish lifestyle for his wife, mistress and ungrateful bimbo daughter.
A profile of Stewart and Lynda Resnick, the billionaire owners of The Wonderful Company (POM pomegranates, pistachios, almonds, halo mandarins and Fiji Water). Agriculture today isn't about small farms. It's large agribusiness corporations that require massive amounts of water, taxpayer subsidies and shameless marketing.
A trip to former ISIS territory by a Voice contestant who used his prize money to become a journalist.
June 11, 2020
I am late in reviewing this title for which I apologize. But...you can still read the wide-ranging articles included in this anthology. They certainly have not dated in just a year.
The collection reflects a varied source list including The Atlantic, The New Yorker, The National Geographic, Esquire, The New York Times Magazine and more. Just a few of the authors included here are Leslie Jamison, Jill Lepore and Caitlin Flanagan. Topics range from Paul Manafort to MS-13 to Bret Kavanagh, just to name a few.
Pick up this collection. It will provide ample food for thought and discussion.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review.
The collection reflects a varied source list including The Atlantic, The New Yorker, The National Geographic, Esquire, The New York Times Magazine and more. Just a few of the authors included here are Leslie Jamison, Jill Lepore and Caitlin Flanagan. Topics range from Paul Manafort to MS-13 to Bret Kavanagh, just to name a few.
Pick up this collection. It will provide ample food for thought and discussion.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review.
May 17, 2021
(arc provided by netgalley in exchange for an honest review)
This was my first time reading one of these collections of The Best American Magazine Writing and I was really pleasantly surprised. As I've gotten older, I've begun to appreciate a wider-range of writing formats and journalism, including such that is featured primarily in magazines has gained more of my affection even though I do not buy magazines on the regular. Definitely looking forward to reading further additions to the series.
This was my first time reading one of these collections of The Best American Magazine Writing and I was really pleasantly surprised. As I've gotten older, I've begun to appreciate a wider-range of writing formats and journalism, including such that is featured primarily in magazines has gained more of my affection even though I do not buy magazines on the regular. Definitely looking forward to reading further additions to the series.
July 22, 2019
I read Skinned by Lesley Nneka Arimah, and I strongly recommend this piece. Wonderfully written and also a reflection of our created caste systems. This piece brings light to how we “other” people with labels, with Skinned using literal skin to show the society who is unmarried (uncovered) and who is married (covered in wife cloth). Recommended.
October 2, 2019
Solid investigative articles on everything from health issues to drug dealing to immigration, culled from major magazines in 2019. I could have done without the editor's overly self-praising introduction, but the rest offers interesting and good reads from excellent journalists.
December 30, 2019
This annual collection always proves a great way to meet writers new-to-me.
January 30, 2023
A good slice of life of articles, which we now can reflect on and ask, what was important to us before covid hit?
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews