The Best American Magazine Writing 2017

With the work of reporters under fire worldwide, this year’s anthology of National Magazine Award finalists and winners is a timely reminder of the power of journalism. The pieces included here explore the fault lines in American society. Shane Bauer’s visceral “My Four Months as a Private Prison Guard” ( Mother Jones ) and Sarah Stillman’s depiction of the havoc wreaked on young people’s lives when they are put on sex-offender registries ( The New Yorker ) examine controversial criminal-justice