Three Cheers

A salute to a writer and two artists who served readers especially well in 2022

We’re proud to recognize three contributors to Harvard Magazine for outstanding work on readers’ behalf during 2022, and to confer a $1,000 honorarium on each.


Lincoln Caplan
Photograph by Susan L. Carney

The McCord Writing Prize (honoring David T.W. McCord ’21, A.M. ’22, L.H.D. ’56, and his prose and verse composed for the magazine and the Harvard College Fund) goes to contributing editor and journalist Lincoln Caplan ’72, J.D. ’76, a visiting lecturer and senior research scholar at Yale Law School. He profiled Radcliffe Institute dean and civil rights historian Tomiko Brown-Nagin (January-February) and Elena Kagan, associate justice of the Supreme Court (November-December; see reader reactions, beginning on page 2); reviewed important books on the Constitution (January-February) and Justice Felix Frankfurter (September-October); and provided same-day analysis of the oral argument in the affirmative action admissions case now being decided by the Court (see harvardmag.com/admissions-arguments-22)—an astonishingly productive year in these pages.


Matthew G. Wood
Photograph courtesy of Matthew G. Wood

Nancy Walecki’s reporting on economic mobility (“The Upward Mobility Problem,” May-June) led to East Mississippi Community College and the Golden Triangle Development nonprofit in that state. University of Alabama photographer Matthew G. Wood captured riveting portraits of Gary Jones and Fabian Ryan, whose studies are equipping them for in-demand careers. These powerful images underlined the connection between Harvard scholars’ research on community colleges and the very real-world implications, from Mississippi to Boston’s Bunker Hill. We salute Wood for his work behind the lens.


Dan Page
Photograph courtesy of Dan Page

Illustrator Dan Page, based near Toronto, is unusually adept at bringing abstract ideas to visual life. We have featured his work numerous times, including past cover assignments, and are pleased to honor him, again, for his creative, clear depiction of long COVID as an enveloping labyrinth in the instantly recognizable shape of a coronavirus—the September-October cover art accompanying Jonathan Shaw’s feature.

It was a pleasure to publish their distinguished work, and we are delighted to thank these superb professionals.

—The Editors

Related topics

You might also like

How to Cook with Wild Plants

From wild greens spanakopita to rose petal panna cotta, forager and chef Ellen Zachos makes one-of-a-kind meals.

For This Poet, AI is a Writing Partner

Sasha Stiles trained a chatbot on her manuscripts. Now, her poems rewrite themselves.

Houghton Library Displays Revolution-era News and Propaganda

A new exhibit reveals how early Americans learned about the war.

Most popular

250 Years Ago, Harvard Was Home to a Revolution

A look at the sights, sounds, and characters that put the University on the frontlines of history

When the Revolution Hit Cambridge, Harvard Moved to Concord

College students broke hearts and windows during their year in exile.

The Harvard-Trained Doctor Who Urged a Revolution

Before his heroic death, General Joseph Warren was dubbed “the greatest incendiary in all of America.”

Explore More From Current Issue

A dancer in a black leotard poses gracefully in a bright studio, with mirrors reflecting her movement.

A New “Black Swan” Musical Cranks Up the Tension

The creative team of the A.R.T.’s new show dish on adapting Darren Aronofsky’s thriller classic from screen to stage.

A glowing orange sun with a star and a trailing gas cloud in space.

A Harvard Astrophysicist Explains the Bizarre Behavior of a Supergiant Star

The dimming and rapid rotation of Betelgeuse may be caused by a hidden companion.