First Annual Juried Contest Seeks Best Family, Pet and Travel Photo Books; Offers Three $3,000 Grand Prizes, Three $1,000 Runner-up Prizes

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Blurb®, the creative publishing platform that enables anyone to design, publish, market and sell professional-quality books, seeks entries for the first-ever Best Blurb Books Contest. Photo books can be entered at http://www.blurb.com/photo-book-contest in one of three categories - family, pets, or travel - for a shot at one of three $3,000 grand prizes or one of three $1,000 runner-up prizes.

Submissions will be accepted through October 22, 2009. Beginning October 23, the public can cast their votes for their favorite books submitted. One vote per person per category will be accepted through November 9. Once public voting is closed, one judge in each category will select a grand prize winner and a runner-up from among the Blurb books that received the most votes. There is no cost to enter the Best Blurb Books Contest other than the cost to purchase one copy of the book you design and submit.

Creating a book and submitting it to the Best Blurb Books Contest is simple. Download Blurb BookSmart® software to your Mac or PC to design your book; upload your book to Blurb; at check-out, select your category and enter your book into the Best Blurb Books contest; rally your friends, family, colleagues, Facebook friends, and Twitter followers to get out the vote. Blurb photo books come in six sizes, starting at just $12.95 for one book, making the Best Blurb Books Contest truly accessible for anyone.

Judges for each contest category were hand-selected by Blurb.

Category: Travel Lori Barbely, Islands Magazine
Lori Barbely is the photo editor at ISLANDS Magazine. From selecting imagery, shooting and writing to overseeing a redesign, conceiving photo essays and spearheading the 20th Annual Reader Photo Contest, Barbely has helped ISLANDS win numerous awards in visual excellence. Before joining the title in 2006, Barbely climbed the ranks to deputy photo editor at First for Women magazine. Before that, she graduated with a B.A. in photography from the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Category: Pets Christopher Ameruoso, Paw Print Magazine
Christopher Ameruoso has carved himself a unique and successful niche in the Hollywood Hills as a photographer of pets and the stars that own them. He has been photographing actors, actresses, and models since 1998 and has released two best selling pet books "Pets and Their Celebrities" & "Celebrities and Their Pets." His work has been featured on more than 40 magazine covers. Ameruoso is the founder, editor-in-chief and photographer for PAW print, the pet magazine.

Category: Family April Peveteaux, Babble
April Peveteaux is an editor, writer and performer. Her work can be seen in RADAR and The Life and Times of the Mummy. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, daughter and cocker spaniel.

For more information on the Best Blurb Books contest, please visit http://www.blurb.com/photo-book-contest.com.

About Blurb
Blurb® is a creative publishing and marketing platform that unleashes the creative genius inside everyone. Blurb's platform makes it easy to design, publish, market and sell professional-quality books, using our free, award-winning Blurb BookSmart® software, or via the design tool of your choice. Use Blurb's Bookstore and online marketing tools to market and sell your books, and keep 100% of your profit. Use Blurb's social and community features to create and share Blurb books with your friends and colleagues with ease.

Blurb was founded by Eileen Gittins in 2005, and includes a team of design, Internet and media veterans who share a passion for helping people bring their stories to life. Blurb is based in San Francisco with offices in London, and is funded by Canaan Partners and Anthem Venture Partners. For more info, visit http://www.blurb.com.