Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.^[2]

History[link]

Esquire appeared, for the first time, in October 1933. Founded and edited by David A. Smart,^[3] Henry L. Jackson (who was killed in the crash of United Airlines Flight 624)^[4] and Arnold Gingrich.^[2][3] It later transformed itself into a more refined periodical with an emphasis on men's fashion and contributions by Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald. In the 1940s, the popularity of the Petty Girls and Vargas Girls provided a circulation boost. In the 1960s, Esquire helped pioneer the trend of New Journalism by publishing such writers as Norman Mailer, Tim O'Brien, John Sack, Gay Talese, Tom Wolfe and Terry Southern. In August of 1969, Esquire published Normand Poirier's piece, An American Atrocity, one of the first reports of American atrocities committed against Vietnamese civilians.^[5] Under Harold Hayes, who ran it from 1961 to 1973, it became as distinctive as its oversized pages.^[6] The magazine shrank to the conventional 8½x11 inches in 1971. The magazine was sold by the original owners to Clay Felker in 1977, who sold it to the 13-30 Corporation, a Tennessee publisher, two years later. During this time New York Woman magazine was launched as something of a spinoff version of Esquire aimed at female audience. 13-30 split up in 1986, and Esquire was sold to Hearst at the end of the year, with New York Woman going its separate way to American Express Publishing. The famous cover photo of Muhammad Ali shown here was taken by Carl Fischer

David M. Granger was named editor-in-chief of the magazine in June 1997. Since his arrival, the magazine has received numerous awards, including multiple National Magazine Awards — the industry’s highest honor. Prior to becoming editor-in-chief at Esquire, Granger was the executive editor at GQ for nearly six years. Current^[when?] award winning staff writers include Tom Chiarella, Scott Raab, Mike Sager, Chris Jones, John H. Richardson, Cal Fussman, Lisa Taddeo and Tom Junod.

Esquire on the Web[link]

The Daily Endorsement Blog

In January 2009 Esquire launched a new blog — the Daily Endorsement Blog. Each morning the editors of the magazine recommend one thing for readers’ immediate enjoyment: “not a political candidate or position or party, but a breakthrough idea or product or Web site.”^[7] The concept for this blog probably emerged from the November 2008 “Endorsement Issue,” in which, after 75 years, Esquire publicly endorsed a presidential candidate for the first time.^[8]. The Daily Endorsement Blog was officially discontinued on April 2011.

Fiction[link]

From 1969 to 1976, Gordon Lish served as fiction editor for Esquire and became known as "Captain Fiction" because of the authors whose careers he assisted. Lish helped establish the career of writer Raymond Carver by publishing his short stories in Esquire, often over the objections of Hayes.^[9] Lish is noted for encouraging Carver's minimalism and publishing the short stories of Richard Ford. Using the influential publication as a vehicle to introduce new fiction by emerging authors, he promoted the work of such writers as T. Coraghessan Boyle, Barry Hannah, Cynthia Ozick and Reynolds Price.

In February 1977, Esquire published "For Rupert - with no promises" as an unsigned work of fiction: this was the first time it had published a work without identifying the author. Readers speculated that it was the work of J. D. Salinger, the reclusive author best known for The Catcher in the Rye. Told in first-person, the story features events and Glass family names from the story "For Esmé – with Love and Squalor". Gordon Lish is quoted as saying, "I tried to borrow Salinger's voice and the psychological circumstances of his life, as I imagine them to be now. And I tried to use those things to elaborate on certain circumstances and events in his fiction to deepen them and add complexity."^[10]

Other authors appearing in Esquire at that time included William F. Buckley, Truman Capote, Murray Kempton, Malcolm Muggeridge, Ron Rosenbaum, Andrew Vachss and Garry Wills.

The magazine's policy of nurturing young writing talent has continued with Elizabeth Gilbert, who debuted in Esquire in 1993, and more recently, with the work of such writers as Chris Adrian, Nathan Englander, Benjamin Percy, and Patrick Somerville. Other writers who have recently appeared in the magazine and on Esquire.com include Ralph Lombreglia, James Lee Burke, and Stephen King.^[11]

The Napkin Fiction Project[link]

In 2007 Esquire launched the Napkin Fiction Project, in which 250 cocktail napkins were mailed to writers all over the country by the incoming fiction editor, in a playful attempt to revive short fiction — "some with a half dozen books to their name, others just finishing their first."^[12] In return, the magazine received nearly a hundred stories. Rick Moody, Jonathan Ames, Bret Anthony Johnston, Joshua Ferris, Yiyun Li, Aimee Bender, and ZZ Packer are among the notable writers included.

Dubious Achievement Awards[link]

For many years, Esquire has published its annual Dubious Achievement Awards, lampooning events of the preceding year. As a running gag, the annual article almost always displayed an old photo of Richard Nixon laughing, with the caption, "Why is this man laughing?" However, the February 2006 "Dubious Achievement Awards" used the caption under a photo of W. Mark Felt, the former FBI official revealed in 2005 to be the "Deep Throat" Watergate source for Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. The magazine did continue the Nixon photo in February 2007, referring to a poll stating that George W. Bush had surpassed Nixon as the "worst president ever". Another running gag has been headlining one especially egregious achievement, "And then they went to Elaine's." (Elaine's was a popular restaurant in New York City. It closed May, 2011.)

Esquire did not publish "Dubious Achievement Awards" for 2001 or 2002, but resumed them with the 2003 awards, published in the February 2004 issue.

"Dubious Achievement Awards" were permanently discontinued in 2008, according to an editor's note in the January 2008 issue.^[13][14]

Sexiest Woman Alive[link]

The annual feature Sexiest Woman Alive designation by the magazine is billed as a benchmark of female attractiveness.

Originally, it was a part of the "Women We Love" issue that was released in November. To build interest, the magazine would do a tease, releasing images of the woman's body parts in the issues preceding the November issue. By 2007, it has become the dominating story of the issue and to create an element of surprise the hints were abandoned.

Year	Choice	Age	Notes
2004	Angelina Jolie[15]	29	First winner
2005	Jessica Biel[16]	23
2006	Scarlett Johansson[17]	21	Youngest winner
2007	Charlize Theron[18]	32	First African winner (South Africa)
2008	Halle Berry[19]	42	First biracial winner; oldest winner
2009	Kate Beckinsale	36	First European winner (England)
2010	Minka Kelly	30
2011	Rihanna	23	First Bajan winner

[edit] Awards and honors

2000-present[link]

National Magazine Awards^[20]

2011

• In March, Esquire won a National Magazine Award for Digital Media - the first Mobile Edition prize - from the American Society of Magazine Editors.^[21]

2009

• Winner for Personal Service, Feature Writing, and Leisure Interests
• Finalist for Profile Writing

2008

• Finalist for Magazine Se

International editions[link]

• China^[22]
• Czech Republic
• Greece
• El Salvador (since 2009)
• Hong Kong
• Indonesia
• Japan (published by Esquire Magazine Japan Co., Ltd.)
• Korea
• Malaysia (launched April 2011)
• Mexico
• The Middle East (launched November 2009)
• Netherlands
• Philippines (launched October 2011, published by Summit Media)^[23]
• Republic of China
• Romania
• Russia
• Spain
• Thailand
• Turkey
• Ukraine (launched March 2012)
• United Kingdom

Notable People on the Cover[link]

• Ann-Margret (February 1966)
• Ben Affleck (April 2009)
• Spiro Agnew (May 1970)
• Muhammad Ali (August 1966, April 1968, October 2003)
• Tim Allen (February 1995)
• Woody Allen (February 1966, July 1975, April 1987, January 1993, October 1994)
• Pamela Anderson (February 1999)
• André 3000 (September 2004)
• Ursula Andress (July 1967)
• Mario Andretti (October 1978)
• Jennifer Aniston (October 2002)
• Lance Armstrong (July 2004)
• Tom Arnold (March 1993)
• Christian Bale (December 2010)
• Javier Bardem (September 2004, December 2007, October 2010)
• Brigitte Bardot (May 1966)
• Ellen Barkin (April 1991)
• Roseanne Barr (March 1993)
• Drew Barrymore (February 1994, October 2001)
• Kim Basinger (December 1987)
• Kate Beckinsale (November 2009)
• Monica Belluci (February 2001)
• John Belushi (February 1979)
• Richard Benjamin (November 1969)
• Candice Bergen (August 1992)
• Sandahl Bergman (May 1980)
• Halle Berry (May 2007, November 2008)
• Paul Bettany (September 2004)
• Jessica Biel (November 2005)
• Theodore Bikel (November 1969)
• Jacqueline Bisset (February 1970)
• Robert Blake (October 1976)
• Cate Blanchett (December 2007)
• Joseph Bonanno (August 1971)
• Eddie Bracken (June 1966)
• Bill Bradley (February 1982)
• Tom Brady (September 2008)
• Marlon Brando (July 1981)
• Jeff Bridges (September 1988, October 1991, May 2011)
• Christie Brinkley (July 1994)
• Pierce Brosnan (November 1995, November 2002)
• Blair Brown (August 1988)
• Jim Brown (December 1967)
• Pat Brown (December 1967)
• Gisele Bundchen (October 2004)
• William S. Burroughs (November 1968)
• Richard Burton (August 1963)
• George H.W. Bush (June 1991, June 1992)
• Gerard Butler (August 2009)
• Sid Caesar (May 1972)
• Nicolas Cage (September 1998)
• Truman Capote (November 1969, June 1975, May 1976, December 1976)
• William Calley (November 1970)
• Esther Cañadas (July 1999)
• Claudia Cardinale (December 1966)
• Drew Carey (April 1999)
• David Carradine (August 1973)
• Jim Carrey (December 1995)
• Johnny Carson (May 1971)
• Jimmy Carter (March 1977, February 1978)
• Dick Cavett (May 1971)
• Dave Chappelle (May 2006)
• Barrie Chase (June 1960)
• Chevy Chase (April 1977)
• Cher (February 1975, January 1990)
• Bill Clinton (September 1996, December 2000, December 2005, August 2012, February 2012)
• George Clooney (October 1999, December 2001, January 2005, December 2006, April 2008, May 2009, January 2012)
• Roy Cohn (February 1968, November 1972, December 1978)
• Stephen Colbert (August 2008)
• Jennifer Connelly (August 1991)
• Sean Connery (June 1965)
• Bradley Cooper (June/July 2011)
• David Copperfield (April 1994)
• Howard Cosell (November 1969)
• Daniel Craig (September 2006, August 2011)
• Cindy Crawford (August 1995)
• Billy Crudup (September 2000)
• Tom Cruise (March 1994, May 2002, June/July 2010)
• Billy Crystal (December 1989)
• Macaulay Culkin (December 1992)
• Jamie Lee Curtis (July 1985)
• Tony Curtis (December 1967)
• John Cusack (May 1991)
• Beverly D'Angelo (January 1988)
• Matt Damon (October 2009)
• Sammy Davis Jr. (December 1965)
• Rosario Dawson (April 2006)
• Brooklyn Decker (February 2011)
• Benicio Del Toro (March 2003, April 2005, October 2007)
• Robert DeNiro (December 1997, January 2003, January 2011)
• Johnny Depp (April 1995, May 2004, January 2008)
• Maruschka Detmers (July 1991)
• Danny DeVito (July 1986)
• Leonardo DiCaprio (March 2010)
• Cameron Diaz (April 2002)
• Angie Dickinson (August 1993)
• Bob Dole (September 1996)
• Robert Downey Jr. (March 2007, December 2009, May 2012)
• Richard Dreyfuss (October 1978, November 1987)
• David Duchovny (May 1999)
• Kirsten Dunst (June 2002)
• Jimmy Durante (June 1966)
• Clint Eastwood (March 1978, October 1988, January 2009)
• John Edwards (August 2007)
• Britt Ekland (April 1969)
• Carmen Electra (June 2004)
• Colin Farrell (September 2003)
• William Faulkner (September 1979)
• Brett Favre (September 1997)
• Will Ferrell (December 2003)
• Tina Fey (April 2010)
• Ralph Fiennes (September 2002)
• Heidi Fleiss (January 1994)
• Jane Fonda (February 1991)
• Sandra Force (February 1974)
• Megan Fox (June 2009)
• Michael J. Fox (February 1988)
• James Franco (September 2010)
• Walt Frazier (August 1972)
• Mitch Gaylord (July 1984)
• Jean Genet (November 1968)
• Richard Gere (July 1995)
• Mel Gibson (February 2002)
• Rudy Giuliani (May 2003)
• Robin Givens (January 1989)
• Arthur Godfrey (June 1973)
• John Goodman (November 1989)
• Ryan Gosling (September 2011)
• Billy Graham (April 1979)
• Heather Graham (April 2000)
• Hugh Grant (September 1999)
• Rocky Graziano (August 1967)
• Germaine Greer (September 1971)
• Merv Griffin (May 1971)
• Arlo Guthrie (September 1968)
• Jake Gyllenhaal (December 2007)
• Alexander Haig (September 1978)
• George Hamilton (December 1965)
• Jon Hamm (March 2012)
• Tom Hanks (March 1987, December 1993, March 1999, September 2001, June 2006)
• Darryl Hannah (January 1985)
• Patti Hansen (December 1978)
• Valerie Harper (April 1976)
• Michael Harrington (November 1969)
• Gary Hart (February 1982)
• Paul Harvey (November 1978)
• Rita Hayworth (December 1972)
• Joey Heatherton (December 1965)
• Hugh Hefner (November 1976)
• Ernest Hemingway (October 1970)
• Christina Hendricks (May 2010)
• Grant Hill (March 1999)
• Lauryn Hill (March 1999)
• Alfred Hitchcock (April 1982)
• Dustin Hoffman (July 1970, March 1980)
• Howard Hughes (March 1969)
• Helen Hunt (August 1998)
• Elizabeth Hurley (July 1997)
• William Hurt (October 1986)
• Mick Jagger (April 1993)
• Scarlett Johansson (February 2005, November 2006)
• Lyndon B. Johnson (November 1965, November 1966)
• Van Johnson (June 1973)
• Angelina Jolie (February 2000, November 2004, June 2007)
• James Earl Jones (November 1969)
• Michael Jordan (November 1990, November 1993)
• Ashley Judd (October 2000)
• Minka Kelly (November 2010)
• John F. Kennedy (January 1962, June 1964, October 1968, November 1973, June 1977, November 1991, January 2010)
• John F. Kennedy Jr. (September 1995)
• Robert F. Kennedy (March 1963, October 1968, August 1978, January 2010)
• Douglas Kenney (October 1981)
• Nicole Kidman (August 1999)
• Martin Luther King Jr. (October 1968)
• Vendela Kirsebom (July 1993)
• Mathilde Krim (March 1999)
• Harvey Keitel (September 1993)
• Mark Kelly (December 2011)
• Ted Kennedy (June 1970, February 1972, January 2010)
• Heidi Klum (June 2001)
• Keira Knightley (October 2005)
• Kris Kristofferson (November 1981)
• Nancy Kwan (August 1960)
• Diane Lane (June 2000)
• Ali Larter (November 1996)
• Ralph Lauren (September 1987)
• Sheryl Lee (August 1990)
• Spike Lee (October 1992)
• John Lennon (November 1980)
• Jay Leno (October 1995)
• David Letterman (November 1986, September 1991, December 1994, May 2000)
• Carl Lewis (April 1983)
• Richard Lewis (April 1990)
• Roy Lichtenstein (November 1969)
• Rich Little (November 1975)
• Blake Lively (February 2010)
• Heather Locklear (June 1995)
• Gina Lollobrigida (May 1955)
• Eva Longoria (May 2005)
• Jennifer Lopez (August 2003)
• Joe Louis (June 1966)
• Linda Lovelace (May 1973)
• Lyle Lovett (May 1994)
• Josh Lucas (September 2005)
• Claire Boothe Luce (August 1974)
• Sidney Lumet (November 1969)
• Ali MacGraw (February 1973)
• Madonna (August 1989, December 1991, August 1994, March 1999)
• Norman Mailer (September 1971, July 1988)
• Rian Malan (November 1985)
• Peyton Manning (September 1997)
• Julianna Margulies (August 1997)
• Steve Martin (October 1987, January 1991, April 1996)
• Peter Martins (July 1983)
• Lee Marvin (March 1970)
• Groucho Marx (July 1972)
• Marcello Mastroianni (February 1965)
• Paul Mazursky (March 1984)
• John McCain (August 2006)
• Tim McCarver (September 1986)
• Matthew McConaughey (April 2011)
• Dylan McDermott (March 2000)
• John McEnroe (July 1987)
• Ewan McGregor (June 2005)
• Jay McInerney (July 1989)
• Steve McQueen (February 1973)
• Debra Messing (November 2000)
• Sienna Miller (February 2007)
• Marilyn Monroe (March 1961, March 1986)
• Demi Moore (May 1993)
• Marianne Moore (June 1966)
• Mary Tyler Moore (February 1977)
• Anita Morris (July 1986)
• Jim Morrison (March 1991)
• Viggo Mortensen (March 2006)
• Carrie-Ann Moss (June 2003)
• Bill Murray (December 1998, December 2004)
• Mike Myers (July 2008)
• Ralph Nader (June 1971)
• Joe Namath (October 1969, February 1971, June 1979)
• Liam Neeson (March 2011)
• Paul Newman (October 1989)
• Jack Nicholson (September 1990, January 2004)
• Richard Nixon (May 1968, June 1969, January 1992)
• Edward Norton (September 2002)
• Kim Novak (December 1967)
• Rudolf Nureyev (December 1974)
• Barack Obama (June 2008, February 2009,
• Aristotle Onassis (December 1970)
• Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (June 1967, March 1972, November 1991)
• Tatum O'Neal (July 1987)
• Maureen O'Sullivan (April 1970)
• Clive Owen (March 2005, March 2009)
• Al Pacino (February 1996, July 2002)
• Jack Palance (August 1967)
• Floyd Patterson (August 1966)
• I.M. Pei (June 1978)
• Sean Penn (September 2007)
• Michelle Pfeiffer (December 1990)
• Brad Pitt (October 2006)
• Jeremy Piven (June 2007)
• George Plimpton (November 1969)
• Michael J. Pollard (September 1968)
• Pope John Paul II (May 1979)
• Prince Charles (April 1988)
• Dennis Quaid (March 1989)
• Ronald Reagan (August 1980)
• Robert Redford (August 1978, March 1988, September 1992)
• Lynn Redgrave (December 1967)
• Bar Refaeli (July 2009)
• Burt Reynolds (October 1972, January 1979, March 1980)
• Natasha Richardson (March 1999)
• Rihanna (November 2011)
• Jason Robards (January 1978)
• Julia Roberts (December 2001)
• Chris Rock (March 1999)
• Alex Rodriguez (April 2001)
• Fred Rogers (November 1998)
• Rebecca Romijn (July 1996)
• Mark Ruffalo (March 2004)
• Winona Ryder (November 1992)
• John Sack (November 1968)
• Susan Sarandon (September 1989)
• Telly Savalas (September 1975)
• Roy Scheider (May 1983)
• Claudia Schiffer (April 1994)
• Mike Schmidt (May 1987)
• Budd Schulberg (November 1969)
• Arnold Schwarzenegger (July 2003, March 2008)
• Jerry Seinfeld (September 1994)
• Garry Shandling (July 1998)
• John Shea (July 1982)
• Sam Shepard (November 1988)
• Cybill Shepherd (January 1986)
• Jessica Simpson (May 2008)
• O.J. Simpson (November 1994, January 1996, February 1998)
• Frank Sinatra (April 1966)
• Kate Smith (June 1966)
• Terry Southern (November 1968)
• Kevin Spacey (October 1997)
• James Spader (May 1991)
• Britney Spears (November 2003)
• Steven Spielberg (September 2001)
• Jerry Springer (January 1999)
• Bruce Springsteen (December 1988, August 2005)
• Sylvester Stallone (February 1989, December 1996)
• Casey Stengel (December 1967)
• Howard Stern (May 1992, January 2006)
• Jon Stewart (July 2001)
• Sharon Stone (March 1995, August 1996, March 1999, December 1999)
• Barbra Streisand (October 1982)
• William Styron (August 1987)
• Ed Sullivan (July 1965, December 1967)
• Donald Sutherland (March 1981)
• Dominique Swain (February 1997)
• Hilary Swank (August 2002, April 2007)
• Gay Talese (November 1979)
• Elizabeth Taylor (April 1952, August 1963, November 1964, January 1983)
• Charlize Theron (November 1999, May 2001, November 2007)
• Norman Thomas (June 1966)
• Uma Thurman (March 1998)
• Tiny Tim (September 1968)
• Justin Timberlake (November 2011)
• José Torres (November 1969)
• John Travolta (June 1996, April 1998)
• Donald Trump (August 2004)
• Christy Turlington (November 1997)
• Mike Tyson (June 1999)
• John Updike (August 1987)
• Vince Vaughn (December 2008)
• Sofia Vergara (April 2012)
• Goran Višnjić (March 2002)
• Mark Wahlberg (June 1993)
• Nancy Walker (November 1974)
• Andy Warhol (May 1969)
• Denzel Washington (May 1998, December 2007)
• Erin Wasson (February 2006)
• James G. Watt (January 1984)
• Naomi Watts (April 2003)
• John Wayne (June 1973, April 1980)
• Sigourney Weaver (August 2001)
• Sanford I. Weill (November 1983)
• Johnny Weissmuller (April 1970)
• Rachel Weisz (April 2004)
• Raquel Welch (August 1967)
• Vanna White (January 1987)
• Pharrell Williams (September 2005)
• Robin Williams (March 1984, June 1989)
• Bruce Willis (May 1995, March 2001, June 2012)
• Carl Wilson (April 1971)
• Luke Wilson (September 2005)
• Debra Winger (February 1993)
• Tim Wirth (February 1982)
• Tom Wolfe (August 1979, October 1990)
• Sam Worthington (September 2009)
• Catherine Zeta-Jones (February 2003)

See also[link]

• List of men's magazines
• Allegra Coleman
• Roberto Parada
• Nat Mags (UK publisher)
• Men's Health UK

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website (US)
• Official website (UK)
• C Net News article about the experiment of the Esquire writer in Wikipedia
• "The Advertising Show: George Lois talks about creating Esquire covers" (mp3). Advertising Age. November 5, 2005. http://www.theadvertisingshow.com/attachments/articles/488/051106_lois.mp3.