The Smoking Gun has a pretty nasty scoop on The Guardian‘s Ana Maria Cox. Seems she owes a decent chunk of change to The Penguin Group for a book she never wrote.

They write:

“Blogger Ana Marie Cox, who signed in 2006 to author a ‘humorous examination of the next generation of political activists,’ is being dunned for her $81,250 advance (and at least $50,000 in interest). Her Penguin contract totaled $325,000.”

Seems the book would be right up her alley. Cox isn’t the only writer being targeted by Penguin, but she does owe the second largest amount of money in the bunch. Others named in the suit include a Holocaust survivor Herman Rosenblat and Prozac Nation author Elizabeth Wurtzel.

We’ve reached out to Cox for comment. As many know, she know longer lives in Washington and now resides in St. Paul, Minn. Read the full story here.

What do Wonkette’s Jim Newell, WaPo’s Marc Fisher, Politico’s John Harris, WAMU’s Kojo Nnamdi and The Big Hunt all have in common?

They all made the Washington City Paper’s 2009 “Best of DC” List. Below are some highlights we thought you’d find interesting. The complete list can be found here.

Best Local Blog/Blogger: Jim Newell, Wonkette

Best In-Depth Columnist: Marc Fisher, WaPo

Best Editor: John Harris, Politico

Best Ethnic Reporter: Kojo Nnamdi

Best Flack: Leah Gurowitz, DC Superior Court spokesperson

Best Local Politics: WAMU-FM’s DC Politics Hour

Best Local Twitterer: Ana Maria Cox

Best Media Happy Hour: Reason’s old Big Hunt bashes

Best Media Struggle: Newspapers vs. New Media

Best Name in Publishing: Johnny Yataco, the Washington Hispanic