Elliott Woods' "Hope's Coffin" wins citation from The Overseas Press Club of America

The Overseas Press Club of America gave a citation to Elliott Woods' piece for the Virginia Quarterly Review "Hope's Coffin." He was cited for the The Madeline Dane Ross Award, which awards the best international reporting in the print medium showing a concern for the human condition. The award itself went to Abigail Haworth, "Forced to be Fat," Marie Claire.

Read an excerpt of the announcement below:

The topics may often be bleak, but the Overseas Press Club awards are always inspirational. In spite of the shadow cast by budget and staff cuts at newspapers, magazines and broadcast networks, this year's entries continued to underscore the integrity, quality—and sheer courage—of the reporters who bring us the stories that should not be buried. The 2009 entries are notable for their focus on Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan. Many convey the tragedy and poignancy of the conflict in these and other countries by putting human faces on those caught up in far-flung political agendas. Those like Associated Press photographer Khalil Hamra and The New Yorker's Jon Lee Anderson risked their lives to get reports and pictures from Gaza and the favelas of Brazil. Others confronted the drug wars in Afghanistan and Mexico to bring us harrowing and insightful analyses.