The New Yorker’s Ava Kofman has acquired the 2026 Nationwide Journal Award for Profile Writing, recognizing her portrait of the influential far-right blogger Curtis Yarvin. The article, Kofman’s first as a workers author, traces the trajectory and political attain of its topic, whose supporters embrace Vice-President J. D. Vance and a coterie of Silicon Valley billionaires. The group that conferred the award, the American Society of Journal Editors, final month honored “Energy Homes,” a set of New Yorker photos shot by the photographer Gillian Laub.
To report the profitable Profile, Kofman delved deeply into the writings of Yarvin, who popularized the idea of being “red-pilled”—a riff on a scene in “The Matrix”—and turned it right into a rallying cry amongst conservatives. A former tech designer, Yarvin has advocated for “the liquidation of democracy, the Structure, and the rule of legislation,” and referred to as for the institution of an American monarchy, arguing in 2011 that Donald Trump is “biologically suited” to reign as king. Kofman’s article chronicles the trail of such concepts from the fringes to the mainstream, outlining their affect on figures equivalent to Peter Thiel, Stephen Miller, and Elon Musk. Close to the top of the piece, Kofman joins Yarvin, whom she describes as “America’s most well-known dwelling monarchist,” on the “Coronation Ball,” a D.C. occasion celebrating Trump’s second Inauguration. She and different journalists had been later eliminated by safety.
“Energy Homes,” which acquired the 2026 ASME Award for Finest Leisure and Superstar Images, takes readers contained in the dwelling rooms of notable New Yorkers, together with Lin-Manuel Miranda, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Spike Lee, and Gloria Steinem. Furnishings, pets, and the residents themselves infuse the pictures with each ambiguity and which means, making a wealthy mosaic of metropolis life throughout ages, backgrounds, and boroughs.
The Nationwide Journal Awards, first offered in 1966, are given in affiliation with Columbia College’s College of Journalism. The New Yorker has gained sixty, together with Kofman’s 2026 prize.
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