For those of us who love to write about books, the most important award given during this past week’s NBCC ceremony, was the Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing, given to Sam Anderson, book critic of New York magazine. Committee chair, Celia McGee, in her remarks, said that she likes to think of Anderson as a Hudson River School landscape painter with words. To read some of Sam’s work, check out his New York magazine archives, and also this excerpt from his 2004 Best Essay Award from The American Scholar about James Joyce. (Photo credit: Miriam Berkley)