Jack Hart : Tom and I have been working together for 18 years. This story represented an incremental advance in our understanding of narrative nonfiction, and I can't offer any breakthrough insights. But "Mask" certainly reinforced our belief that the deep narrative structure of such a story is its most important element. In the end the early decisions you make about choice of protagonist, nature of the complication, point of insight, climax, point of view and so on are far more important to reader response than the more superficial word editing you do at the end of the process.

Jack: On this story, we had a tough time getting the complication defined in the most effective way, and that meant we had a tough time seeing what the appropriate ending might be.

Jack: Sometimes the writer gets the prize and the glory. But don't forget that Tom was a finalist for the Pulitzer twice before he actually won it. And he and I have done an awful lot of stories together, over the years, that won nothing. So, for both writer and editor, the real commitment has to be to great storytelling. And the real reward has to be the satisfaction of a story well told.

I also think the best editors have a teacher's mentality. They take their deepest pleasure in the accomplishments of the folks they work with and the kind of relationships they forge with those colleagues in learning. So the byline and the name on the prize certificate aren't quite as important. Besides, when prizes do come along, editors get plenty of recognition.

Everybody in the newsroom knows who edited the story, and many journalists around the country do as well. Furthermore, the best writers gravitate to the best editors, which is a prize in itself. And publishers have been known to send a little cash bonus the editor's way when a story does especially well.