After a month of voting, the results are finally in for the 3rd annual Paranormal Cover Art Awards!  Thanks to the 850+ of you who voted, the brilliant artists, and creative authors responsible for these books.   The competition is always fierce, but I think this year’s awards mark a new high.  The first and second place covers in the Best Female with Animal cover were separated by only 3%!  And if you’ve followed these awards in the past, you know that the gorgeous covers for the Hush, Hush books created by photographer James Porto always dominate, and this year was no exception as they swept all three categories they were nominated in.  I’m disappointed that my favorite cover, Dan dos Santos’ MY LIFE AS A WHITE TRASH ZOMBIE by Diana Rowland (which tied with Gene Mollica’s HOUNDED BY Kevin Hearne for most nominations) just missed out in all it’s categories, but I can’t argue with the winners.  Stunners all around.

All Things Urban Fantasy presents
The 2011 Paranormal Cover Art Awards

Just a reminder, all the covers below link to Amazon.com and if you are a fan or curious about the stories that inspired these amazing covers, go buy them. I’ve read most of them and can tell you that beauty is not just skin deep.

Ready to see the winners?

Today is the LAST DAY to vote in the 2011 Paranormal Cover Art Awards.  Some of the categories are EXTREMELY close, like five votes apart, so please get as many people as possible to vote.

Click HERE to Vote!

Help spread the word:

Tweet:

LAST DAY to vote in the Paranormal Cover Art Awards hosted by @Abigail_ATUF Go vote for your favorites http://j.mp/6iaA5d

If you want to post something on your blog, just paste the code below:

<p>Have you voted in the 2011 Paranormal Cover Art Awards hosted by <a href="http://allthingsurbanfantasy.blogspot.com/">All Things Urban Fantasy</a>?&#160; Voting ends today (winners will be announced on January 1st).&#160; Don’t let your favorites lose! <br /></p><a href="http://allthingsurbanfantasy.blogspot.com/2011/12/voting-is-now-open-3rd-annual.html"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="2011 Paranormal Cover Art Awards" alt="" src="http://i982.photobucket.com/albums/ae307/AllthingsUF/2011-Cover-Art-Awards2.gif" /></a> <p><a name="more"></a></p><p align="center"><font color="#ff0000" size="7"><strong><a href="http://allthingsurbanfantasy.blogspot.com/2011/12/voting-is-now-open-3rd-annual.html">Click HERE to Vote!</a></strong></font></p>

I’ve spent the past week tallying up all the nominations that came in (thank you so much to all of you who took time to nominate your favorite covers!), tracking down cover artists, and formatting the voting ballot.  I can already tell the competition is going to be tough this year, so make sure to vote for your favorites and help spread the word any and every way you can. 

All Things Urban Fantasy presents

The 2011 Paranormal Cover Art Awards
 
 

Ready to see which covers made the cut…

Wow did November sneak up fast!  Spooky Legends just ended, we got a shiny new design, and a new ATUF blogger.  In light of all the busy crazy fun lately, this years awards have undergone a few changes. 

• First up: The long overdue name change.  It really wasn’t fair to call these the Urban Fantasy Cover Art Awards since they recognize all types of paranormal fiction (only took two years to figure out that one). So, the new name is Paranormal Cover Art Awards.
• Second: EVERYONE can nominate covers. In previous years, nominations were made by bloggers, reviewers, authors, publicists etc. The thought being that we didn’t want to burn everyone out during nominations and end up with fewer people voting.  Also we wanted to make sure we got a wide and fair representation of COVERS and not just popular BOOKS. But after some thought and feedback, we’re allowing anyone and everyone to nominate covers this year.
• Third: As of now, there will not be prizes for voters.  There is an INSANE amount of correspondence that goes into these awards, and adding giveaways on top of that is just more than we can handle this year.   Hopefully every one understands and is still excited about voting for their favorite covers. 

So get nominating!  More details regarding cover eligibility and category explanations are included in the Nomination Form below.  If you want some ideas of covers to nominate, a great resource is the Hot Off The Press posts which feature the covers of nearly all the paranormal releases by month.  Nominations will be open now through November 25th.  Voting will begin on December 1st.  Please help spread the word.

Use hashtag #ParanormalCoverAwards on Twitter.  For example you could tweet:

Get your nominations in for the 2011 #ParanormalCoverAwards hosted by @Abigail_ATUF j.mp/u4a8yv

Grab the button:

<a border="0" href="http://allthingsurbanfantasy.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i982.photobucket.com/albums/ae307/AllthingsUF/2011-Cover-Art-Awardssmall.gif"></a>

There were 2848 people from 67 different countries who voted in the 2010 Urban Fantasy Cover Art Awards! 

Many thanks to all the artists who created the beautiful covers that we’ve been voting for, the amazing authors who wrote the books themselves, the generous publishers & authors who provided giveaways, and to all of you for voting.

All the covers below link to The Book Depository (free shipping to 90+ countries) if you want more info or you want to buy them.  All of the titles (excepting the Sneak Preview covers) are available to buy now. The winners of the voters prizes will be listed at the bottom of this post. 

Authors, artists, publishers etc. If you won, feel free to grab the winner graphic (designed by the always excellent Parajunkee Design) for your site:

<a href="http://allthingsurbanfantasy.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://i982.photobucket.com/albums/ae307/AllthingsUF/2010coverawards_winner-1.png" /></a></textarea*><P></P></div></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML> 

Category Winners:

Best Anthology Cover

Dark and Stormy Knights Edited by P.N. Elrod - Cover Artist: Chris McGrath 375 14% Haunted by Your Touch by Jeaniene Frost Shayla Black Sharie Kohler - Cover Artist: Gene Mollica 182 7% WINNER: Inked by by Karen Chance Marjorie M. Liu Yasmine Galenorn Eileen Wilks - Cover Artist: Chad Michael Ward 802 31% Kiss Me Deadly Edited by Trish Telep - Cover Artist: Clayton Bastiani/Trevillion Images 696 26% Songs of Love and Death Edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois - Cover Artist: Tony Mauro 574 22%

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Best Foreign Cover

GE Hunted By The Others by Jess Haines - Cover Artist: Unknown 138 5% UK Love in the Time of Dragons by Katie MacAlister - Cover Artist: Unknown 715 27% UK Moon Sworn by Keri Aurthur - Cover Artist: Unknown 114 4% NZ Saltwater Vampires by Kirsty Eagar - Cover Artist: Marina Messiha 817 31% WINNER: GE Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead - Cover Artist: Unknown 878 33%

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Best Paranormal YA Cover

Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick - Cover Artist: James Porto 466 17% Firelight by Sophie Jordan - Cover Artist: Amber Gray 222 8% Nightshade by Andrea Cremer - Cover Artist: Suza Scalora 551 21% The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff - Cover Artist: Jonathan Barkat 602 22% WINNER: Torment by Lauren Kate - Cover Artist: Fernanda Brussi Goncalves 845 31%

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Best Paranormal Steampunk Cover

Blameless by Gail Carriger - Cover Artist: Lauren Panepinto 435 16%  WINNER: The Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare - Cover Artist: Cliff Nielsen 1,492 57% The Greyfriar by Clay Griffith and Susan Griffith - Cover Artist: Chris McGrath 319 12% The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook - Cover Artist: Chad Michael Ward 199 8% Steamed by Katie MacAlister - Cover Artist: Unknown 194 7%

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Best Object Cover

Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl - Cover Artist: David Caplan & Si Scott 395 15% Dust by Joan Frances Turner - Cover Artist: John Murello 142 5% Fat Vampire by Adam Rex - Cover Artist: Dan Saelinger 559 21% Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler - Cover Artist: Sammy Yuen 668 25% WINNER: The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff - Cover Artist: Jonathan Barkat 874 33%

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Best Male Cover

Changes by Jim Butcher - Cover Artist: Chris McGrath 223 8%  WINNER: The Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare - Cover Artist: Cliff Nielsen 807 30% Crave by J. R. Ward - Cover Artist: Unknown 657 25% Demon from the Dark by Kresley Cole - Cover Artist: Gregory Bridges 264 10% Infinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon - Cover Artist: Cliff Nielson 697 26%

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Best Female Cover

WINNER: Afterlight by Elle Jasper - Cover Art: Oceana Gottlieb 837 32% Alpha by Rachel Vincent - Cover Art: Erin Craig 472 18% Archangel's Kiss by Nalini Singh - Cover Art: Tony Mauro 429 16% Firewalker by Allyson James - Cover Art: Tony Mauro 339 13% Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs - Cover Art: Dan Dos Santos 561 21%

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Best Duo Cover

Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews - Cover Art: Victoria Vebell 162 6% Bone Gods by Caitlin Kittredge - Cover Art: Chris McGrath 179 7% Eternal Kiss of Darkness by Jeaniene Frost - Cover Art: Thomas Egner 154 6% WINNER: Halo by Alexandra Adornetto - Cover Art: Rich Deas and Tim Hall 1,561 58% Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead - Cover Art: Unknown 631 23%

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Best Male with Animal Cover

Healer's Choice by Jory Strong - Cover Art: Tony Mauro 609 23% Lion's Heat by Lora Leigh - Cover Art: Unknown 96 4% The Midnight Mayor: Or the Inauguration of Matthew Swift by Kate Griffin - Cover Art: Unknown 598 23% Rapture Untamed by Pamela Palmer - Cover Art: Don Sipley 494 19%  WINNER: White Cat by Holly Black - Cover Art: Russell Gordon and Michael McCartney 809 31%

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Best Female with Animal Cover

Geist by Philippa Ballantine - Cover Artist: Jason Chan 818 31% Kitty's House of Horrors by Carrie Vaughn - Cover Artist: Craig White 162 6% Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews - Cover Artist: Chad Michael Ward 210 8% WINNER: Pegasus by Robin McKinley - Cover Artist: Elisabetta Sinopoli 1,139 43% Wolfsbane by Patricia Briggs - Cover Artist: Unknown 310 12%

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Most Unique Cover

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater - Cover Artist: Christopher Stengel 494 19% Married with Zombies by Jesse Peterson - Cover Artist: Lauren Panepinto 126 5%  WINNER: The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff - Cover Artist: Jonathan Barkat 935 36% Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce - Cover Artist: Strawberryluna 793 30% Tracking the Tempest by Nicole Peeler - Cover Artist: Sharon Tancredi 279 11%

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Best Debut Cover

Blood Law by Jeannie Holmes - Cover Art: Craig White 395 15% Blood Song by Cat Adams - Cover Art: Rachel E. Davis 455 17% Afterlight by Elle Jasper - Cover Art: Oceana Gottlieb 619 23% WINNER: Nightshade by Andrea Cremer - Cover Art: Suza Scalora 996 38% Queen of Shadows by Dianne Sylvan - Cover Art: Gene Mollica 171 6%

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Best Covers in a Series

WINNER: Fallen series by Lauren Kate - Cover Artist: Fernanda Brussi Goncalves 948 36% Immortals After Dark series by Kresley Cole - Cover Artist: Gregory Bridges et al 137 5% The Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs - Cover Artist: Dan Dos Santos 504 19% Shifters series by Rachel Vincent - Cover Artist: Erin Craig 293 11% Wicked Lovely Series by Melissa Marr - Cover Artist: Mark Tucker 768 29%

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Best Sneak Peak Cover for 2011

Archangel's Consort by Nalini Singh - Cover Artist: Tony Mauro 628 24% Naked City Edited by Ellen Datlow - Cover Artist: Dan Dos Santos 298 11% River Marked by Patricia Briggs - Cover Artist: Dan Dos Santos 349 13% Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning - Cover Artist: Unknown 384 15% WINNER: Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer - Cover Artist: Suza Scalora 984 37%

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Cover of the Year

Afterlight by Elle Jasper - Cover Art: Oceana Gottlieb 460 17% Geist by Philippa Ballantine - Cover Art: Jason Chan 476 18% Haunted Honeymoon by Marta Acosta - Cover Art: Elena Dudina 440 16%  WINNER: Nightshade by Andrea Cremer - Cover Art: Suza Scalora 887 33% Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs - Cover Art: Dan Dos Santos 451 17%

Voter Prize Winners:

• HAUNTED HONEYMOON by Marta Acosta
  Winner: Orrin Grey
• BLOOD SONG & SIREN SONG by Cat Adams
  Winner:  Geneen Valentine
• HALO by Alexandra Adornetto
  Winner: Amber Johnson
• NIGHSHADE by Andrea Cremer – Audiobook & signed book plate
  Winner: Erin McDonald
• SALTWATER VAMPIRES by Kirsty Eagar – Signed
  Winner: Emily B
• HAUNTED BY YOUR TOUCH anthology – Signed
  Winner: Thaakirah Hayat
• THE GREYFRIAR by Glay Griffith and Susan Griffith
  Winner: Courtney Vait
• BLOOD LAW by Jeannie Holmes – Signed
  Winner: Dawn Valentine
• AFTERLIGHT by Elle Jasper – Signed
  Winner: Fabiola Pena
• FIRELIGHT by Sophie Jordan – Signed
  Winner: Melody Perkins
• PEGASUS by Robin McKinley - ARC
  Winner: Carolyn Bahr
• LINGER & SHIVER by Maggie Stiefvater
  Winner: Sherin Nicole

If you won a prize, you must fill out THIS FORM to claim it.  I’ve emailed each of you.  If you do not claim your prize within 72 hours, a new winner will be chosen. All the winners were chosen by Random.org.