Feature Writing

For her searing personal account of the survival of her premature baby, born barely viable at 1 pound, 4 ounces, and her exploration of the costs and ethics of extreme medical intervention.

For his moving portrait of a struggling swimming pool salesman that illustrates the daily emotional toll of the nation’s economic downturn.

For his deeply reported story of Derek Boogaard, a professional hockey player valued for his brawling, whose tragic story shed light on a popular sport’s disturbing embrace of potentially brain-damaging violence.

For her inspiring stories that bring the reader side-by-side with the medical professionals seeking to save the lives of gravely injured American soldiers at a combat hospital in Afghanistan.

For his engaging account of a South Carolina neurosurgeon’s quest to teach brain surgery in Tanzania, possibly providing a new model for health care in developing countries.

For his portfolio of deftly written stories that provide war-weary readers with fresh perspective on the conflict in Afghanistan.

For his portfolio of closely observed pieces that movingly capture how the great recession is changing lives and relationships in America.

For a story that chronicles the urgent life-and-death decisions made by one hospital’s exhausted doctors when they were cut off by the floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina. (Moved by the Board to the Investigative Reporting category.)

For his concise, captivating story about a rescued baby dolphin that needed a new tail and became a famous survivor, illuminating the mysterious connection between human beings and animals.

For her poignant, deeply reported story of a chiropractor who suffered a severe stroke following brain surgery and became a wildly creative artist, in many ways estranged from his former self.

For her harrowing tale of a mechanic whose arms were reattached after being severed in an accident, a disciplined narrative that takes readers on the man’s painful personal and physical journey to recover.

For his vivid account of a grizzly bear attack and the recovery of the two victims.

For his sensitive retelling of a school bus and train collision at a rural crossing in 1961 that killed 20 children.

For his fresh and compelling stories about a young public defender and his daily challenges.

For her witty and perceptive portfolio of features on an array of everyday topics.

For his rich portfolio of pieces capturing slices of life in hurricane-battered New Orleans as well as his own New York City.

For her intimate and compelling story about a federal judge whose husband and mother were murdered by an angry former plaintiff.

For her exhaustive look inside the lives of students at an alternative high school, shattering stereotypes and delineating memorable characters.

For her clear, sensitive, tirelessly reported stories on what it means to be young and gay in modern America.

For their intimate exploration of the lives of wounded soldiers returning from Iraq.

For her story chronicling more aggressive efforts by states to terminate the rights of parents.

For his lucid story on the efforts to unravel the mystery of why the Columbia space shuttle fell from the sky.

For her moving story about a wrongfully convicted man who refused to succumb to anger or bitterness.

For his sensitive, sometimes surprising chronicle of a teenage prodigy's struggle with a musical talent that proved to be both a gift and a problem.

For her empathetic and illuminating portrait of teenaged Sudanese boys resettled in the U.S. who must engage with American culture.

For his moving and textured reconstruction of the tragic events of September 11th, described through the actions of several key participants.

For her inspirational stories that chronicled the care and recovery of two students critically burned in a dormitory fire at Seton Hall University.

For his elegant, insightful portrait of a Tennessee family whose son shot three people at his high school.

For his moving account of a woman forced to choose between staying with her family in a Macedonian refugee camp, or leaving to marry a man in France.

For her quietly powerful stories of Mexican women who come to work in North Carolina crab shacks, in pursuit of a better life.

For his unique profile of a man struggling to recover from a brain injury.

For his moving account of a Washington lawyer whose collection of postcards helps to preserve his memories of a fleetingly happy childhood.

For "The Champ," an extraordinary documentation of a heavyweight boxer's glory days and his fall.

For his startling and original story about a bond that formed between four medical students and the cadaver they studied.

For his versatile storytelling, notably including an account of the flight of 15 Buddhist monks from Tibet through the Himalayas.

For her trio of vivid stories about three teenagers on a deadly journey, a photograph from the Oklahoma City bombing, and a vacuum cleaner that catches prairie dogs.

For "Buried Alive," his chilling profile of a woman's desperate attempts to communicate after being left mute and paralyzed by strokes.

For his detailed and highly personal account of returning to his hometown of Oklahoma City after the bombing there.

For his story examining middle class flight from the District of Columbia, and for two profiles: of a family that watches television 17 hours a day, and of a Rush Limbaugh fan.

For her account of a local businessman's secret life of drug addiction and consorting with prostitutes.

For stories about people who enjoy the outdoors, especially those with a passion for fishing.

For their chilling portrait of seven suburban teenagers accused of murdering a friend.

For his provocative profile of former President Richard Nixon.

For his lively and vivid reporting of the celebration of a young couple's wedding.

For her moving story about a family brought together by AIDS.

For his profile of a child molester that challenged many assumptions about sexual abuse.

For her gripping account of the effort to transplant the organs of a dead boy and turn the tragedy of his death into a gift of life for others.

For her moving account of her father's death from lung cancer.

For three illuminating portraits of African-American life.

For a poignant series about his return to Vietnam.

For "The People's Court," a detailed account of the game of basketball as it is played on New York City playgrounds.

For her story about the accidental drowning of three brothers and the effect it had on their small Missouri town.

For his stories about a local priest accused of sexual abuse.

For stories about a heroin addict's pregnancy and the birth of her addicted infant.

For her powerful story about life at a housing project overrun by the drug crack.

For richly detailed stories about a violent neighborhood feud, ethnic tensions in the Miami police department and Holocaust survivors in South Florida.

For "Into the Storm--the Story of Flight 191," a sensitive reconstruction of an airplane crash.

For three gracefully written stories dealing respectively with a prison lawsuit, a family murder and an aging stand-up comic.

For "The Fall of the House of Bingham," a skillful and sensitive report of a powerful newspaper family's bickering and how it led to the sale of a famed media empire.

For his account of how, by means of a trip through Germany and Eastern Europe, he managed to come to terms with his father's experiences in the Holocaust.

For her elegantly written and sensitive stories about the aspirations and accomplishments of ordinary people.

For his story about a family's search for the man who raped their daughter.

For her story of Jennifer Brandt, teen-age suicide.

For his stories on illegal immigrants, sexual abuse of children and the deaths of two men.

For a series documenting the world of a young boxer and his manager.

For her moving account of Meg Casey, a victim of premature aging.

For his documentation of the work of the nation's largest burn treatment center in Seattle, Wash.

For his extraordinary account of an organ donation "Kelly's Gift," and the effects it had on the lives of four strangers.

For his series on abortion.

For his account of a near air crash and its aftermath

For "Execution of My Father."

For a series on Indians.

On the snail darter.