Athens, Ga. – The Georgia Review, UGA’s quarterly literary journal, has garnered significant praise in recent weeks, picking up accolades from the national and regional media outlets as well as the state’s top elected official.
The journal won seven Gamma Awards, the National Magazine Award in Essay and a Governor’s Award in the Humanities, which will be presented at a May 10 ceremony in Atlanta.
An essay from Beijing-based author Michael Donohue earned the National Magazine Award in Essays on May 1, beating out submissions from The New Yorker, Smithsonian, Foreign Policy and New Letters.
The essay, “Russell and Mary” is an autobiographical story in which the author reconstructs the long lives of his deceased neighbors using an abandoned box of letters, drawings, cartoons and newspaper clippings he finds in their apartment.
“There’s no predicting when an essay like that will show up in your mailbox,” said Stephen Corey, acting editor of The Review. “You have to recognize it when you see it and then you have to work with the author to make it even better. That’s one of the things we do and have a reputation for doing.”
It marks the second time The Review has won and the 15th time it’s been nominated for this award, which is given annual by the American Society of Magazine Editors.
Donohue’s essay also received a gold GAMMA Award. The Review picked up six other GAMMA Awards, which are given by the Magazine Association of the Southeast.
It won a gold award for Best Series or Topic Coverage for six pieces that focused on the Review’s 60th anniversary, which occurred last year.
Jennifer Culkin’s article, “Icthyosis,” won another gold award for its glimpse into the life of a neonatal nurse caring for a newborn with a deadly birth defect.
The Review won two silver awards for Best Single Issue and Best Design (both for the Fall/Winter 2006 issue) and another for Best Series or Topic Coverage, this time for six pieces focusing on poetry review.
It also took the bronze award for Best Single Cover for the Summer 2006 issue.
“We certainly have plans and intentions for trying to keep pulling in the best work we can,” Corey said. “It’s like the winners syndrome in any field: Getting some notice for some awards is going to mean that a few more good writers are going to say, ‘Hey, that’s a place to send my best stuff,’ so we can increase the strength of our stuff that’s coming in.”
Next week, Gov. Sonny Perdue will present the journal with a 2007 Governor’s Award in the Humanities. This award recognizes “exemplary achievements that foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of Georgia’s cultural traditions.” The ceremony takes place May 10 at the Old Georgia Railroad Depot in downtown Atlanta.
For more information on The Georgia Review, see www.uga.edu/garev/