2010 Book Cover Contest

Welcome to the Second Annual Book Cover Contest!

(See First Annual Book Cover Contest HERE.)

I've divided the covers into eight genres, each genre with its own post page. Yes, last year there were seven genres but, like the Whitney Awards, this year I split YA into regular YA and YA Fantasy. There were just too many to share the category—and really, the YA Fantasy has an unfair advantage.

I've picked my top five favorite covers for each genre and posted them in alphabetical order.

Covers were picked based on how attractive I thought they were, and how well they communicated the feeling of the genre and the title. It had nothing to do with what is actually inside the book.

My personal tastes lean toward a cleaner look. I don't like cluttered or fuzzy images. I like all styles—photographic, artistic, and clip art. I don't care how big the title and/or author name is but it has to blend well with the image and not detract from it. I really like clever use of fonts—a dated font is usually going to nix a cover for me.

We could argue the artistic merits and complexities of these covers till the cows come home, but let's don't, because basically, choosing a book by its cover is an emotional response to the visual imagery and it's going to be different for everyone.

So, here are the basic guidelines:

• Pick your favorite COVER, not your favorite book or author.
  
  
• Vote using the VIZU polls at the end of each genre category post. You may vote for one book cover in each genre.
  
  
• Please leave comments stating why you liked a particular cover, or not. Be subjective—why/how did it grab you? How did it make you feel?
  
  
• You may point out that I obviously have no taste because I missed THE best cover in the genre—and tell us in the comments which covers you may think were unfairly overlooked. (Just be nice and don't call me names).
  
  
• You may send all your friends over to vote, but please tell them to vote for the most visually appealing cover, and not for your book because you're friends.
  
  
• You may vote through midnight Thursday, January 6, 2011.
  
  
• On Friday, January 7, I'll post the winners from each genre—both Readers Choice (your vote) and Publishers Choice (my vote).
  
  
• After the genre winners are posted, we'll vote over the weekend for the overall winner—chosen from the genre winners.
  
  
• On Monday, January 10th, I'll post the overall winner—both Readers Choice (your vote) and Publishers Choice (my vote).

*If your book cover is one of these genre finalists, feel free to grab the silver image at the top of this post as an award to put on your blog or website. Please link back to this site so your site visitors will know what the award is all about.