American NMAs announce finalists for Cover of the Year

The American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) released its ten nominees for Cover of the Year recently. This year’s shortlist is comprised of familiar faces (Bloomberg Businessweek twice, Vanity Fair, New York) to this category and a few relative outliers (Food & Wine, Boston, W). Each cover was chosen as the best in its field (News, Entertainment, Science, Women’s Service, etc) and from among them one will be chosen Cover of the Year at ASME’s general meeting April 30, one day before the annual American National Magazine Awards.
Last year’s Boston Marathon bombing features in two nominated covers (Sports Illustrated, Boston). Only half the covers involve a face staring back at you; six if you count the skull on one of the covers of Bloomberg. The latter cover mocks the Canadian tech company Blackberry, reminiscent of earlier Canadian magazine send-ups (including Canadian Business, 2011, nom’d for a NMA in Best Cover).
Three covers want you to notice hair: VF‘s Kate Upton curls; Oprah’s amazing, symmetrical disc of hair; and Michael Douglas, looking coy with a salon-fresh coiffeur as Liberace on the cover of New York.
Bloomberg Pursuits stops tracks with an alluring crocodile eyeball. Food & Wine‘s cover not only features no eyes, no face and no George Clooney, but no meat (“Vegetables Now” says the cover line in an understated font).
Only one cover–SI’s “Boston”–features a work of photojournalism. Eight others are conceptual photos and/or portraits, and only one–Bloomberg–features an illustration.

Which do you think is best? The winner will be announced next week.
And… the finalists for the Canadian National Magazine Awards–including this year’s finalists for Best Cover–will be announced on May 1. Right here.
Related post: Canada’s Best Magazine Covers of 2012