The seasonal rhythms that nature observes can escape notice in the daily churn of hidebound life. Save the flashy ones, of course: the budding births, the leafy deaths, the much-covered return of some specific bird flock to some specific site. Happily, editor-at-large David Quammen is one of those rare sorts seemingly ever in tune with the earth's cycles. In his 17 years with Outside, Quammen has contributed nearly 170 pieces, virtually all with the unstated yet underlying theme of life's rhythms. The author of eight books, Quammen is working on a new one about "ultimate predators" and their relationship with humans, a project born of two Outside articles, one featuring Komodo dragons, the other Asiatic lions. "Creatures that remind humans that we belong in the middle of the food chain, not at the apex of creation," he says.

Nature's cycles also affect another Quammen interest: kayaking. Since watery intumescence follows the seasons, he spent part of last winter on some of New Zealand's wildest water. The result, "Awhirl in the Land of Perverse Fun", examines thrill-seeking among Kiwis. Photographer Phil DeRiemer, a professional guide, joined Quammen on the ride.

As it happens, the piece is Quammen's fifth on the subject of kayaking for Outside; a previous feature earned a National Magazine Award in 1994. The award was Quammen's second; his Natural Acts column was honored with an NMA in 1987. This March, the American Society of Magazine Editors once again announced its nominations for the highest awards in magazine publishing, and we're pleased to note that Outside was honored twice: Contributing editor Daniel Coyle's October 1997 profile of Exxon Valdez captain Joseph Hazelwood was selected in the category of Feature Writing, and Outside was nominated for the coveted General Excellence award for publications with circulations of 400,000 to one million. The latter is a trophy we've been particularly delighted to bring home the past two years running. Our thanks go out to the parties responsible for this latest nomination: Outside's writers, photographers, and illustrators. And, of course, our readers.

Ann Patchett is the author of three novels, The Magician's Assistant, Taft, and The Patron Saint of Liars — the last of which recently aired as a made-for-TV movie. "Tell people you're a novelist, and they say, 'How nice,'" Patchett notes. "But mention your TV movie and the room goes, 'Ooohhh!'" Her first article for Outside, "My Road to Hell Was Paved,".

Seeking a more strenuous subject after his last book, about UFOs, Gary Kinder thought he'd like to write about scuba. What he found instead was a high-seas adventure tale, complete with a vast trove of sunken gold — but no scuba diving. "I spent most of my time shipbound," he says, "watching video of a robot making dives." His story is excerpted from his book Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea, published this month by Atlantic Monthly Press.

In his last Outside feature, Paul Keegan ("Alone Among the Crowd,") extracted nutrition and fitness advice from triathlete Mark Allen. Yet the part-time blues trumpeter marked his 40th birthday last month not with a healthy jog, but by performing in a smoky New York club. "I sang the St. James Infirmary Blues, which is all about death," Keegan says. "It seemed appropriate."

Millennial fever is old news for Alex Heard; he's spent ten years investigating the phenomenon of doomsday groups for a book, Apocalypse Pretty Soon, to be published in January by W. W. Norton. Among his discoveries: When it comes to the End, doomsayers favor vagueness. "If they do pick a date," he says, "there's always an escape clause built in." Heard's Field Notes piece about haven-seekers in the mountains of North Carolina.

The quartet of Alaskan writers who contributed to this issue's cover package ("One-Man Towns, Eight Paved Highways, 129 Million Acres of Forest. Alaska? Naturally,") includes the aforementioned Daniel Coyle, who recently moved back to his native Homer after several years away. He joins neighbor and National Public Radio commentator Geo Beach, Anchorage-based writer Patty Sullivan, and Bill Sherwonit, author of Alaska's Accessible Wilderness: A Traveler's Guide to Alaska's State Parks.

London-based John Ryle is the author of Warriors of the White Nile, about the Sudan's Dinka tribe, and his next book concerns what he calls "tropical spin-doctoring," as practiced by relief agencies, governments, and rebel spokesmen in war-torn Africa. "What are basically political events are portrayed as natural disasters," Ryle says, "in part because we have difficulty understanding the politics of civil wars." His profile is of millionaire conservationist Douglas Tompkins.