ASME ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF 2022 BEST COVER CONTEST

New York Magazine’s “Lunacy of Text-Based Therapy” Named Cover of the Year; Concealed Carry Magazine Collects Reader’s Choice Award

New York, NY (June 16, 2022)—The American Society of Magazine Editors announced the finalists and winners of the 2022 ASME Best Cover Contest on Twitter today. New York’s “Lunacy of Text-Based Therapy,” depicting an extended text message, was named Cover of the Year. Concealed Carry’s “Politics & the Law” cover, featuring former New York police detective Ralph Friedman, won the Readers’ Choice Award.

Now in its 16th year, the ASME Best Cover Contest recognizes magazine covers in 10 categories, ranging from Best News and Politics Cover and Best Entertainment and Celebrity Cover to Best Illustrated Cover and Best Conceptual Cover. The finalists and winners are chosen by leading editors, art directors and photo editors. The ASME Board of Directors selects the Cover of the Year. Covers entered in the ASME Best Cover Contest are also posted on Facebook, where users like their favorites in each category. The most popular cover overall wins the Readers’ Choice Award.

“From Norman Rockwell illustrations to Richard Avedon photographs, magazine covers have long been seen as a form of American iconography,” said Sid Holt, the executive director of ASME. “This year’s Best Cover Contest finalists and winners continue in that tradition, reflecting issues of importance, whether it is the impact of the pandemic or the politics of gun ownership. ASME congratulates each of the magazines that won recognition this year from the judges and the many readers who chose their favorites online.”

This year’s Cover of the Year was illustrated by Pablo Rochat. Ken Wangler photographed Ralph Friedman for Concealed Carry.

Photographers and illustrators whose work was honored also included R. Kikuo Johnson (Best News and Politics category winner), Mark Ulriksen (Best Sports and Adventure category winner) and Adrian Tomine (Best Health and Fitness category winner) for The New Yorker; Maurizio Cattalan and Pierpaolo Ferrari (Best Entertainment and Celebrity category winner) and Jutharet Pinyodoonyachet (Best City and Regional Magazine category winner) for New York; Hannah Whitaker (Best Business and Technology category winner) for The New York Times Magazine; AB+DM (Best Fashion and Style category winner) for InStyle; Andres Burgos (Best Food and Travel category winner) for Travel + Leisure; and Lorna Simpson (Best Illustrated category winner) for ESSENCE.

Readers' Choice winners included Rolling Stone’s BTS cover (Best Entertainment and Celebrity category); luckbox’s “Amazon’s Predatory Capitalism” cover (Best Business and Technology category); Dartmouth Alumni Magazine’s Reggie Williams cover (Best Sports and Adventure category); Consumer Reports' “Fresh Ways to Get a Great Night’s Rest” cover (Best Health and Fitness category); Vanity Fair’s Dua Lipa cover (Best Fashion and Style category); Texas Monthly’s “50 Best BBQ Joints” cover (Best Food and Travel category) and “Why Selena Still Matters” cover (Best Illustrated Cover); Oklahoma Today’s “Grand Hotels” cover (Best City and Regional Magazine category) and Whitefish Review’s “Taking Flight” cover (Best Conceptual category).

The 2022 ASME Best Cover Contest was judged by 109 ASME members and other journalists. Readers’ Choice voting began February 1 on Facebook and lasted a month. Finalists receive certificates of recognition; winners receive ASME Best Contest awards.

To view the ASME Best Cover Contest 2022 finalists and winners, click here. To view past honorees, click here.

ASME BEST COVER CONTEST 2022 FINALISTS AND WINNERS

Cover of the Year

New York for "The Lunacy of Text-Based Therapy," March 29-April 11

Best News and Politics Cover

Winner: The New Yorker for "Delayed," April 5

Finalists: National Geographic for "2020: 71 Photographs From an Unforgettable Year," January; New York for "3 Wednesdays in America," January 18-31; The New York Times Magazine for "The American Abyss," January 17; TIME for "Delete 'Facebook'?" October 25-November 1

Readers' Choice: Concealed Carry for "Politics & The Law," July

Best Entertainment and Celebrity Cover

Winner: New York for "Locked Down With the Roys," August 30-September 12

Finalists: Bloomberg Businessweek for "Lupin and the Art of the Steal,'" July 5; The New York Times Magazine for "The Age of Ishiguro," February 28; NYLON for "Travis Barker," September Split Cover; Texas Monthly for "Leon Bridges Comes Home," August

Readers' Choice: Rolling Stone for "BTS," June

Best Business and Technology Cover

Winner: The New York Times Magazine for "How America Spends," May 23

Finalists: Bloomberg Businessweek for "How to Lose $20 Billion* in 2 Days," April 12; Fortune for "Fortune 500," June/July; MIT Technology Review for "The Food Issue," January/February; New York for "Can I SPAC My Stonks With NFTs?," April 12-25

Readers’ Choice: luckbox for "Amazon's Predatory Capitalism," June/July

Best Sports and Adventure Cover

Winner: The New Yorker for "Hoop Dreams in New York," May 10

Finalists: 5280 for "The Beginner's Guide to Winter Camping," November; Outside for "The Ultimate How-To Manual," Summer; Sports Illustrated for "Trevor Lawrence," May; TIME for "Athlete of the Year: Simone Biles," December 27, 2021/January 3, 2022

Readers’ Choice: Dartmouth Alumni Magazine for "Blood, Sweat, and Tears," March/April

Best Health and Fitness Cover

Winner: The New Yorker for "Easing Back," June 14

Finalists: Health for "The Future of Fitness," July/August; Parents for "Current Mood: Resilient," March; Spectrum for "Autism by the Numbers: Explaining its Apparent Rise," November; TIME for "Heroes of the Year: Vaccine Scientists and the Miracle of mRNA," December 27, 2021-January 3, 2022

Readers’ Choice: Consumer Reports for "Fresh Ways to Get a Great Night's Rest," March

Best Fashion and Style Cover

Winner: InStyle for "Best Dressed," November

Finalists: Allure for "The Best of Global Beauty," May; New York for "New Yawk Style," March 1-14; The New Yorker for "Composed," September 27; NYLON for "Willow Smith," July

Readers’ Choice: Vanity Fair for "Dua Lipa," July/August

Best Food and Travel Cover

Winner: Travel + Leisure for "A New Season," March

Finalists: 5280 for "Inside Mesa Verde," September; AFAR for "Travel Can . . . ," November/December; EatingWell for "Build a Better Breakfast Sandwich," May; Garden & Gun for "Holiday Special," December 2021/January 2022; The New Yorker for "Tastes of Home," November 29

Readers’ Choice: Texas Monthly for "The 50 Best BBQ Joints," November

Best City and Regional Magazine Cover

Winner: New York for "The Return of FOMO," June 7-20

Finalists: Alta for "A Year Like No Other," Winter; Architectural Record for "Reimagining the City," September; Brooklyn for Fall; The New Yorker for "Homecoming," May 17; Texas Monthly for "On the Road Again!," May

Readers’ Choice: Oklahoma Today for "Grand Hotels," September/October

Best Conceptual Cover

Winner: New York for "The Lunacy of Text-Based Therapy," March 29-April 11

Finalists: The Atlantic for "Who Killed America's Newspapers?," November; The New York Times Magazine for "What Have Kids Lost?," September 12; The New Yorker for "Magic Formula," October 11; TIME for "Climate Is Everything," April 26-May 3

Readers’ Choice: Whitefish Review for "Taking Flight," Summer/Fall

Best Illustrated Cover

Winner: ESSENCE for "Rihanna + Lorna Simpson," January/February

Finalists: New York for "Insurrection Day," July 5-18; The New York Times Magazine for "The Passion of Questlove," October 17; The New Yorker for "Venturing Out," May 24; TIME for "Day One.," February 1-8

Readers’ Choice: Texas Monthly for "Why Selena Still Matters," April

Readers’ Choice Award

Winner: Concealed Carry for "Politics & The Law," July

Finalists: NYLON for "Travis Barker," September Split Cover; Rolling Stone for "BTS," June; Texas Monthly for "The 50 Best BBQ Joints," November; Vanity Fair for "Dua Lipa," July/August 

All publication dates 2021 unless otherwise indicated 

About ASME 

The American Society of Magazine Editors is the principal organization for the editorial leaders of magazines and websites published in the United States. Founded in 1963, ASME strives to safeguard the First Amendment, support the development of journalism and defend the editorial integrity of print and digital publications. ASME sponsors the National Magazine Awards in association with the Columbia Journalism School, conducts training programs for reporters and editors and publishes the ASME Guidelines for Editors and Publishers.