March 15, 2007 -- For the third year in a row, the Virginia Quarterly Review, a literary and current affairs magazine based at the University of Virginia, has been nominated for the National Magazine Award for General Excellence and for Fiction.

The announcement, made yesterday by the American Society of Magazine Editors, follows last year’s surprise showing in which VQR received six nominations and captured the awards for General Excellence (circulation under 100,000) and Fiction. The awards, known as “The Ellies,” are the magazine industry’s highest honor.

"We're very pleased to have two Ellie nominations this year," said VQR Editor Ted Genoways. "After winning those categories last year, these nominations are a welcome affirmation of our efforts to maintain that high standard. VQR has always been known first and foremost for literary excellence. Even as we've added reporting, photography, graphic art and more, we've worked to maintain that core literary identity."

Genoways added, "We're especially pleased to see the diversity of nominees this year including The Believer, Georgia Review, McSweeney's, New Letters, Paris Review, and Zoetrope. To my mind, this spate of nominations represents a growing recognition of the exciting work that appears in smaller literary publications."

The nomination for General Excellence cited the Spring, Summer and Fall 2006 issues. The nomination for Fiction cited a package of three stories: “Ships in High Transit,” by Binyavanga Wainaina, Winter; “Wake,” by Kevin A. González, Spring; and “Shepherdess,” by Dan Chaon, Fall. This year’s nominations mark the ninth and tenth that the magazine has received since 2005.

The winners will be announced on May 1 at an award ceremony at New York City’s Lincoln Center.

For more information about VQR, visit www.vqronline.org