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This is our 19th year of presenting to you your favorites and ours. We are pleased as pudgy puppies to have TV stars Arcie and Shasta Cola and their new pal Carmy the Carmadillo grace our "Best of Austin" cover this year. But instead of you having to read me yakking it up about them, we've decided to let them do the talking. Check out the interviews here, as well as full, even juicier versions online. Also, new for this year, we are opening up our blogs for some behind-the-"BOA"-scenes fun. Check austinchronicle.com/chronic for details on how we make this edition happen, pictures from this year's party for the winners, as well as winners and nominees from this year's new Wild Card category.

Enjoy! – Kate X Messer

The people behind this year's "BOA": Assistant editors Richard Whittaker and Meghan Ruth Speakerman. Personal editorial support: Squeezeeeee and Mr. MCK III, without whom... Database/Web gurus Brian and Karen Barry. Our proofreaders: Sarah Jean Billeiter, Mark Fagan, Darcie Stevens, Kristine Tofte, and Anna Toon. Front-desk staffers: Samantha Jenkins, Fernando Martinez, and Cassandra Pearce. Creative Director Jason Stout and art team Liz Osting and Chris Linnen. Promotions and marketing mavens: Erin Collier, Dan Hardick, and Logan Youree. Shout-out to the diligent production crew, ad staff, and editors on call. And most importantly, the interns who keep us young: Angela Armstrong, Meredith Greenwood, and Monica Riese.

Thank you, writers: Belinda Acosta, Nora Ankrum, Angela Armstrong, Nick Barbaro, Wayne Alan Brenner, Wells Dunbar, Mark Fagan, Robert Faires, Kate Getty, Katherine Gregor, Anne Harris, Raoul Hernandez, Shelley Hiam, Kristin Hillery, Kimberley Jones, Michael King, Eli Kooris, Michael C. Kostek III, Kathy McCarty, Gerald McLeod, Kate X Messer, Susan Moffat, Margaret Moser, Stephen MacMillan Moser, Dan Mottola, Lee Nichols, Terry Ornelas, Liz Osting, James Renovitch, Sara Robberson, Dacia Saenz, Audra Schroeder, Amy Smith, Jordan Smith, Meghan Ruth Speakerman, R.U. Steinberg, Darcie Stevens, Kristine Tofte, Richard Whittaker, Cindy Widner, Virginia B. Wood, and Abe Louise Young.