Three Harvard University magazines, Doubletake, Transition and the Harvard Medical Alumni Bulletin, have been nominated for the American Society of Magazine Editors' National Magazine Award.

The three magazines, all edited by Harvard faculty members, are competing for the Award for General Excellence in the same under 100,000 circulation category. The winner will receive the coveted "Ellie," a replica of an Alexander Calder elephant sculpture which many view as the magazine equivalent to a Pulitzer Prize.

"I was incredibly honored by this nomination, especially in the company of such highly esteemed magazines," said Paula Byron, an editor of the Harvard Medical Alumni Bulletin.

Byron said the "legacy of very talented physicians" at Harvard Medical School has allowed the Bulletin, which runs with a staff of only three writers, to "break out of the traditional mode of alumni magazines."

Doubletake Magazine--a literary and photography magazine edited by Agee Professor of Social Ethics Robert Coles and Duke University Professor Alex Harris-- has already won the Ellie award for General Excellence once in 1998.

Coles said he hopes that winning again this year will only cause the magazine staff to redouble their effort for the next year.

He ascribes his magazine's success to its unique blend of writing and photography.

"I think we're probably the only magazine in the country that combines the finest photography that we can find available, along with the finest poetry, fiction and non fiction," Coles said.