Sarah Topol is the winner of the 22nd annual Michael Kelly Award for “The Deserter: An Epic Story of Love and War,” published last year by The New York Times Magazine. Topol’s moving, five-part feature is about a combat officer who deserted from the Russian army and, together with his wife, defected to the West; Topol also spoke with 18 other Russian defectors for her reporting.

The award was announced this morning at the 16th annual Atlantic Festival in New York City. From her acceptance speech, Topol said: “Now more than ever, we must continue to be critical, to question accepted narratives, to be brave, and to seek a greater understanding of this chaotic and dangerous time, even at personal risk. I can only continue to aspire to do so in such beautiful, sharp, original and incisive sen

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