HARPER'S BAZAAR'S TWILIGHT COVER NAMED BEST MAGAZINE COVER OF THE YEAR IN ASME'S BEST COVER CONTEST, HOSTED BY AMAZON.COM

Fans Sink Their Fangs Into Magazine Cover Contest

CHICAGO, IL (October 4, 2010)—The cover of the December 2009 issue of Harper’s Bazaar, featuring the lead actors of the hit movie franchise Twilight, was chosen by Amazon.com customers as “Cover of the Year.” This is the second year that Amazon.com has hosted the American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) Best Cover Contest, and the fifth year that ASME has presented the awards. The announcement was made today by Larry Hackett, ASME President and Managing Editor, People, at the American Magazine Conference currently underway in Chicago, Illinois.

Twelve category winners, chosen by Amazon.com customers during the first round of public voting, competed for the “Cover of the Year” honor.  The Harper’s Bazaar cover, which won the “Best Vampire” category before it was chosen “Cover of the Year,” depicts Twilight stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson in a rare shot together. While the epic image played on the idea of courtship, it was given extra heat due to their real-life romance.

The 11 other Best Cover Contest category winners are:

Winner: News & Business
The Atlantic, May 2010: “Fat Nation”
Marc Ambinder uses the story of his own battle with obesity to comment on America's long and losing war against fat. We wanted an image that presented obesity as a truly national epidemic, one that would plant the problem squarely at the feet of Americans. Alex Ostroy's image of an obese Statue of Liberty highlights the national scope of the problem with a dash of wit.

Winner: Entertainment & Celebrity
GQ, December 2009: “Clint Eastwood”
Each month, GQ does its best to put a celebrity on our cover who embodies the moment – In both culture and style. And like many magazines, those celebrities tend to be fresh-faced and on-the-rise. Every once in a while, though, as evidenced by GQ’s December 2009 Clint Eastwood cover (by photographer Martin Schoeller, who shot every portrait in the issue), the magazine recognizes men who can confidently be deemed GQ Icons. Men whose cracks, and veins, and wrinkles (those hands, that face) convince you not to glance away – but to peer closer. 

Winner: Fashion & Beauty
The New Yorker, March 29, 2010: “Homage”
For "Homage," the cover of The New Yorker's Style Issue, Ana Juan featured Alexander McQueen's signature butterfly hat in a stark array of black, white and red. In her haunting image, Juan unerringly portrays the loss suffered by the fashion world when, earlier in February, the extraordinary McQueen had tragically ended his own life.

Winner: Lifestyle
GQ, February 2010: “The 25 Most Stylish Men in the World 2010”
Every once in a while it makes sense to forgo a new shoot in order to publish the perfect vintage photograph. And for the February 2010 issue, GQ did just that. As the lead image for the "25 Most Stylish Men in the World" feature, no picture spoke more convincingly to the GQ aesthetic of style than the one by Patrick Demarchelier of Johnny Depp. The hair in the eyes. The tattoos. The casual eccentricity and dripping confidence. The half-finished glass of wine. This is who and where we want to be. And this photo is the one we show friends who ask, "Who's the coolest guy you know?" 

Winner: Science, Technology & Nature 
National Geographic, April 2010: “Water: Our Thirsty World”
To create a just-dunked effect for the cover of National Geographic's April 2010 special issue, "Water: Our Thirsty World," executive editor William Marr and staff photographer Mark Thiessen started with a shiny slab of white Formica coated with car polish. Artfully spritzed water drops beaded up and posed through many lighting experiments and photos, then the famous yellow rectangle and the cover type took their places in the image. That's not all that happened, but the rest has something to do with magic. 

Winner: Sports & Fitness
Sports Illustrated, December 11, 2009: “Pictures of the Year”
What is so unique about Morry Gash's shot of Wisconsin running back John Clay is that it gives fans an immediate view of the game from Clay's eyes as he stands behind the line of scrimmage. When the SI photo staff cropped in further on Gash's photo, the clarity of the reflection was still amazing - no small feat for something that was just 10% of the original picture. This photo demonstrates the value of SI's treasure trove of previously unpublished photos and the shelf life they have for later on.

Winner: House & Home
Coastal Living, April 2010: “Weekend Paradise”
Coastal Living's April 2010 cover captures the essence of the magazine’s mission – an escape from everyday life and dreams of the good life by the sea. Our objective is to transport readers to a peaceful, stress-free place through excellent photography and design. This image embodies the magazine's laid-back vibe, nothing too formal or precious. Shot by freelancer Annie Schlechter at a refurbished sugar mill on St. Croix, this clean, crisp photograph has it all – a place to rest, a cool breeze and a killer view. You just want to be there.

Winner: Funniest
Playboy, November 2009: “Marge Simpson”
When Playboy's editors learned “The Simpsons” was celebrating its 20th anniversary and the upcoming season would feature an episode about Marge Simpson disrobing for a modeling gig, they knew they had to honor her with a Playboy pictorial! America's most-beloved matriarch was featured on the November 2009 cover, which was Playboy's first cover to feature an animated character. The much-buzzed-about cover image, which was created with the help of Matt Groening and Julius Preite from The Simpsons, was a recreation of Playboy's iconic October 1971 cover featuring Darine Stern. 

Winner: Most Controversial
New York, September 28, 2009: “HATE”
New York's Obama "HATE" cover takes Shepard Fairey's campaign "HOPE" poster and turns it on its head to reflect the political realities of fall 2009. A collection of words used on signs at Obama protests ("imposter . . . Hitler . . . parasite-in-chief") were hand-painted and then digitally placed onto a photograph of Obama, while the word "hate" replaces "hope" at the base of the image. The cover caused controversy for scrawling hateful words across the face of the president, and it certainly showed in stark fashion the public vitriol that emerged so loudly in some quarters in the months since Obama's election.

Winner: Most Delicious
Texas Monthly, August 2009: “The 50 Best Burgers”
When it comes to your average Texan's diet, there's Tex-Mex, there's barbecue, there's chicken-fried steak – and then there's everything else. So to glorify a foodstuff not found within that holy trinity was somewhat risky. Yet through an inviting color palette of sunshiny yellows and crisp, cool blues; inspired location-scouting and spot-on food-styling; and in-your-face photography from Randal Ford,  Texas Monthly  made the case to readers that the hamburger no doubt belongs in the pantheon of classic Texas dishes.

Winner: Sexiest
Sports Illustrated, February 12, 2010: “Swimsuit 2010”
2010 was a return to the iconic, attention-grabbing SI Swimsuit covers of years past. Set amidst the simple yet breathtaking waters on the Maldives, there is nothing to clutter the focus on Brooklyn Decker's flowing blond hair, piercing blue eyes and all-American smile. Her girl next door charm jumps right out of the photo; it's easy to understand her leap into the pop-culture stratosphere. And for legendary photographer Walter Iooss Jr., this is old hat. 2010 marks the 11th cover shot for the man whose name has become synonymous with the Swimsuit franchise. 

To view the gallery of this year’s Best Cover Contest winners and finalists, go to www.magazine.com/bestcovers. 

About American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME)
The American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) is the principal organization for magazine journalists in the United States. The 700 members of ASME include the editorial leaders of most major consumer and business magazines published in print and online. Founded in 1963, ASME works to defend the First Amendment, protect editorial independence and support the development of journalism. ASME sponsors the National Magazine Awards in association with the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

About Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth’s Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Books; Movies, Music & Games; Digital Downloads; Electronics & Computers; Home & Garden; Toys, Kids & Baby; Grocery; Apparel, Shoes & Jewelry; Health & Beauty; Sports & Outdoors; and Tools, Auto & Industrial. Amazon Web Services provides Amazon’s developer customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon’s own back-end technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business. Kindle, Kindle 3G and Kindle DX are the revolutionary portable readers that wirelessly download books, magazines, newspapers, blogs and personal documents to a crisp, high-resolution electronic ink display that looks and reads like real paper. Kindle 3G and Kindle DX utilize the same 3G wireless technology as advanced cell phones, so users never need to hunt for a Wi-Fi hotspot. Kindle is the #1 bestselling product across the millions of items sold on Amazon.

Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.ca, and www.amazon.cn. As used herein, “Amazon.com,” “we,” “our” and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.

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