Michael Kelly Award

2025 Winner: Sarah Topol, The New York Times Magazine
“After Ivan left, Anna remained immobile on the floor of their hallway,” Sarah Topol writes in her long-form feature, “The Deserter.” “The pain came from inside a place she didn’t even know was empty, and she began to howl.” Across 35,000 words that spanned an entire special issue of The New York Times Magazine, Topol tells the story of Ivan, a combat officer in the Russian Army who defected, and his wife Anna. The five-part narrative reads like a novel, offering readers a uniquely intimate and singular deep dive into the Russian military service, its history and exigencies on soldiers fighting the Russia-Ukraine War today. As part of her reporting, Topol spoke with 18 deserters across four continents and eight countries. The result is a lyrically rich and deeply moving portrait of a man and a woman caught in the crosshairs of post-Soviet delusions. Her writing embodies Michael Kelly’s commitment to the “fearless pursuit and expression of truth.” “The Deserter” also won the George Polk Award’s Sydney H. Schanberg Prize, a National Magazine Award for feature writing, the Poynter Journalism Prize’s Deborah Howell Award for Writing Excellence, and the Overseas Press Club of America’s Ed Cunningham Award.