The Believer monthly books and culture magazine is three-time finalist for National Magazine Awards in General Excellence and Design. An amiable yet rigorous forum for books and book criticism, The Believer provides an alternative to the plot summary that has increasingly become synonymous with "book review," extending the ever-shortening shelf life of new books, reviving interest in books long overlooked, and stressing the interconnectivity of books to pop culture, politics, art, and music. To that end, each issue includes essays on these topics, as well as lengthy interviews with philosophers, politicians, and poets. Nick Hornby has a widely celebrated monthly books column, and Amy Sedaris (and well known guest columnists) offers an advice column comprised of hilariously bad advice. The celebrated graphic novelist Charles Burns illustrates the cover each month, and the magazine is littered with illustrations by a wide range of established and emerging artists, with regulars like Tony Millionaire, Marcel Dzama, and others.