The Ellies ceremony clocked in at a very reasonable one hour and fifty-five minutes. As you may already know, National Geographic was the big winner taking home three awards and causing final presenter David Willey to remark that ASME might have to paint the Ellie yellow. Other highlights included:

• Padma Lakshmi informing the audience that fiction could engender "fire in the loins" (though, perhaps no longer the writers themselves).
• David Remnick accepting the award for General Excellence, 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 circulation saying he'd "almost forgotten how to do this." (We love David Remnick, but even we had a hard time swallowing that).
• The very excited and worthy Print magazine, beating out the Georgia Review for General Excellence, Circulation Under 100, 000. Emily Gordon later told us that it made her happy to hear the presenter announce "the winner is Print," because the night was really a celebration of print in general...it's hard not to love Emily Gordon.
• Former Met, Lenny Dykstra, who followed New York Police Chief and presenter Ray Kelly, causing my seat-mate to query whether we could expect to see a cowboy next, thereby completing the tri-fecta of boy's dream occupations.
• Matt Taibbi, arm anxiety notwithstanding.

Afterwards attendees were invited back to the reception room for champagne and dessert, which proved to be a whole lot of sugar for those of us who missed the protein heavy buffet on the way in. Nevertheless, there was chocolate fondue to be had, a cheese bar to be plundered and winners to congratulate.
More highlights and pictures after the jump.

Rolling Stone writer Matt Taibbi, who seemed genuinely surprised by his win for "Columns and Commentary" and was very gracious in the face of our somewhat dorky "I'm a big fan," moment.

David Remnick congratulating fellow winner Ruth Reichl.

Runners World editor-in-chief and new ASME President David Willey with Public Interest winner Joshua Kors

The gang from New Letters. That's writer Thomas E. Kennedy in the leopard skin hat.

Julia Allison.