It’s March Madness…Media-Style

The Ellies are coming! The Ellies are coming! Yes, that’s right, we mean the 42nd Annual National Magazine Awards, better known as the Oscars for the magazine world, (also sometimes known as “the Oscars for less attractive but far more clever literary types.”)

And we can’t contain our excitement!

The Ellies, so-nicknamed for their elephant-like statuettes** are (almost) upon us and, already, the competition is heating up! The New Yorker garnered 9 nominations this year, closely followed by New York and Esquire, who each snagged 7 nominations apiece. But despite those admittedly impressive feats, we’re far more interested in the classic rivalries. Time vs. Newsweek! GQ vs Esquire! Cosmopolitan vs.The Atlantic Monthly! And so on, and so forth.

Naturally, the Oscar comparisons are inevitable. As far as fashion goes, will Graydon Carter once more opt for casual attire? Will Jann Wanner rock yet another corduroy suit? And what of the talent? Will Time once again prove to be the Ellie’s “Helen Mirren,” taking home top honors in the “General Excellence” category while racking up in the smaller (but still prestigious) sub-divisions? And will The Atlantic Monthly once again be its “Peter O’Toole,” striking out across the board, as when it went “0 for 8″ in last year’s awards? Will Men’s Health strap a defeatist smile on its face should it lose in the “Leisure Interests” category, or will it pull an Eddie Murphy, and storm out of the venue after an unexpected defeat to Golf Digest?

The questions are endless, but—thankfully—the official number of finalists is fairly short. Click here for a complete list of this year’s nominees, and start filling out your Ellies brackets early this year! You’re going to need them.

**which actually look far more like icky crustaceans