ASME AND AMAZON.COM ANNOUNCE THE FINALISTS OF THE 2010 BEST MAGAZINE COVER CONTEST

Consumers to Vote for the Best Magazine Covers of the Year on Amazon.com. New Categories Include Funniest, Most Controversial and Best Vampire

NEW YORK, NY and SEATTLE, WA, (August 26, 2010)—American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) and Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) today announced the finalists in the fifth annual Best Cover Contest.  The finalists were chosen by 90 top magazine editors. The winners in 12 categories will be chosen in September by Amazon.com customers. This is the second year Amazon.com customers have voted on the winners in the ASME Best Cover Contest. 

“Magazine covers capture iconic moments in American life. They tell us where we’ve been and where we’re going,” said Sid Holt, Chief Executive of the American Society of Magazine Editors. “This year’s finalists remind us that it was a tough year for golfers and presidents, a memorable year for fans of Shaun White and Lady Gaga and a very good year for vampires and ‘Mad Men.’”

“Following the extremely positive response from our customers last year, we’re very pleased that they will once again be voting for the winners in the ASME Best Cover Contest,” said Peter Larsen, director of Magazines at Amazon.com. “With this year’s categories covering everything from sports to vampires, we look forward to even greater customer interest.”

Magazine covers were eligible if they appeared on issues dated from June 1, 2009, to May 31, 2010. Beginning September 1, the 72 finalists will be posted on Amazon.com for 30 days. Customers will vote for their favorites in 12 categories, then choose the Cover of the Year from the 12 winners. The winners will be announced on October 3 in Chicago at the American Magazine Conference, the premier meeting for industry leaders hosted by MPA and ASME.

Magazines with multiple nominations include New York (6), The New York Times Magazine (5), The New Yorker (5), GQ (4), Harper’s Bazaar (4), Rolling Stone (3), Sports Illustrated (3), Vanity Fair (3), The Advocate (2), Departures (2), Entertainment Weekly (2) and Martha Stewart Living (2).

And the Finalists in the 12 Categories Are . . . 

News & Business

The Advocate, February 2010: “Gays to the DNC: ‘Kiss My Ass’”
The Atlantic, May 2010: “Fat Nation”
Foreign Policy, March/April 2010: “Killer Apps”
Fortune, November 9, 2009: “Obama & Google: A Love Story”
The New Yorker, February 1, 2010: “First Anniversary”
Time, April 12, 2010: “Inside Steve’s Pad”

Most Controversial

The Advocate, September 2009: “President Barack Obama”
GQ, July 2009: “Sacha Baron Cohen”
Los Angeles, June 2009: “Failure.”
New York, September 28, 2009: “HATE”
The New Yorker, December 14, 2009: “Season’s Greeting”
Vanity Fair, February 2010: “Tiger Woods” 

Sports & Fitness

ESPN The Magazine, January 11, 2010: “New Year/New Rules”
Field & Stream, June 2009: “Cheap Thrills”
Garden & Gun, December 2009/January 2010: “Best of the Sporting South”
The New York Times Magazine, February 7, 2010: “Winter (Fun and) Games!”
Rolling Stone, March 18, 2010: “Shaun White”
Sports Illustrated, December 11, 2009: “Pictures of the Year” 

Lifestyle

Departures, July/August 2009: “The Ultimate Summer Black Book”
GQ, February 2010: “The 25 Most Stylish Men in the World 2010”
Guitar Aficionado, Holiday 2009: “Cars, Guitars, Style”
More, November 2009: “Diane Keaton”
New York, December 21-28, 2009: “Reasons to Love New York”
The New York Times Magazine, April 18, 2010: “The Science of Living a Healthy Life” 

Science, Technology & Nature

Columbia Magazine, October 2009: “Untangling Swine Flu”
National Geographic, April 2010: “Water: Our Thirsty World”
New York, October 12, 2009: “Swine Flu and You”
The New York Times Magazine, June 14, 2009: “Infrastructure!”
The New Yorker, November 2, 2009: “Unmasked”
Outside, November 2009: “Survival” 

House & Home

Architectural Record, December 2009: “Design Vanguard 2009”
Coastal Living, April 2010: “Weekend Paradise”
GreenSource, January/February 2010: “Curves Over Chicago”
House Beautiful, March 2010: “All About Blue”
Martha Stewart Living, May 2010: “Color for Everyone”
Real Simple, May 2010: “Speed Cleaning” 

Fashion & Beauty

Departures, March/April 2010: “The Fashion Issue”
ELLE, January 2010: “Lady Gaga”
Harper’s Bazaar, September 2009, “Agyness Deyn”
New York, August 24, 2009: “Fall Fashion”
The New Yorker, March 29, 2010: “Homage”
Out, February 2010: “Swimsuit Issue” 

Funniest

The Economist, January 30, 2010: “Book of Jobs”
The New York Times Magazine, April 4, 2010: “They Gay?”
The New Yorker, September 7, 2009: “Required Texts”
Playboy, November 2009: “Marge Simpson”
Rolling Stone, September 17, 2009: “The Joy of Colbert”
Sports Illustrated, December 21, 2009: “Stephen Colbert” 

Entertainment & Celebrity

Esquire, March 2010: “Leonardo DiCaprio”
GQ, December 2009: “Clint Eastwood”
Harper’s Bazaar, April 2010: “Demi Moore”
New York, September 21, 2009: “Neil Patrick Harris”
The New York Times Magazine, October 25, 2009: “The Audacity of ‘Precious’”
Rolling Stone, April 15, 2010: “Glee Gone Wild” 

Most Delicious

Atlanta, April 2010: “Eat Cheap”
Bon Appétit, August 2009: “The Ultimate Turkey Burger”
Edible Manhattan, July/August 2009: “Hot Dogs”
Food & Wine, January 2010: “Best Recipes for 2010”
Saveur, August/September 2009: “The Burger Bible”
Texas Monthly, August 2009: “The 50 Best Burgers” 

Sexiest

Entertainment Weekly, June 26-July 3, 2009: “Must List”
GQ, November 2009: “January Jones”
Harper’s Bazaar, January 2010: “Kate Hudson”
New York, February 22-March 1, 2010: “Spring Fashion”
Sports Illustrated, February 12, 2010: “Swimsuit 2010”
Vanity Fair, November 2009: “Penélope Cruz” 

Best Vampire

Details, March 2010: “Robert Pattinson”
Entertainment Weekly, November 20, 2009: “Team Twilight”
Harper’s Bazaar, December 2009: “Twilight”
Martha Stewart Living, October 2009: “Halloween”
People, November 2009: “Twilight Returns”
Vanity Fair, December 2009: “Robert Pattinson" 

To view the nominees and vote for your favorite covers of the year, go to www.amazon.com/bestcovers.

The Amazon.com Magazine Store sells more than 40,000 titles across all categories, from general-interest consumer titles to trade magazines.