LONDON, Aug 11, 2011/ — Cosmopolitan has launched the Cosmopolitan Blog Awards 2011 competition in association with Handpicked Media and sponsored by Stylistpick.com.

Now in its second year, the Cosmopolitan Blog Awards seek out the hottest blogging talent on the web.

Bloggers who believe that their content set them apart from the rest of the web are invited to feature a ‘nominate me’ button on their homepages from now until the end of August, when nominations close.

A shortlist of blogs will be then published on Cosmopolitan.co.uk at the beginning of September. Users will be invited to vote for their favourite blog in each category until 30th September via the Cosmopolitan website. ‘Vote for me’ buttons will also be available to bloggers to embed on their sites.

The winners will be chosen based on user votes, as well as Cosmopolitan’s expert judging panel, which includes members of the Cosmopolitan editorial team and blog experts Handpicked Media.

This year’s awards see an increase in categories for bloggers to enter. There are now twice as many fashion and beauty categories, both for new bloggers and those with more established blogs.

The categories for 2011 are:
• Best New Fashion Blog (less than 18 months old)
• Best Established Fashion Blog (more than 18 months old)
• Best New Beauty Blog (less than 18 months old)
• Best Established Beauty Blog (more than 18 months old)
• Best Lifestyle Blog in association with Handpicked Media
• Best Health, Diet and Fitness Blog
• Best Student Blog
• Best Sex and Relationships Blog
• Best E-tailer or Brand Blog
• Best Technology and Gadgets Blog
• Best Celebrity Blog
• Best Male Blog

Juliet Warkentin, Chief Creative Officer, Stylistpick.com, says: “Stylistpick is proud to be sponsoring the Cosmopolitan Blog Awards 2011. As a new social media driven fashion website, blogging and bloggers are part of our DNA. We wish everyone lots of luck with their entries and also look forward to working with the winners.”

Winners of the 2010 awards have gone on to experience industry-wide recognition, increased traffic to their blogs as a result of their win. Several are now contributors to Cosmopolitan.co.uk’s guest blogger section: www.cosmopolitan.co.uk/blogs/guest-bloggers. Those winners who have joined Handpicked Media are now amongst the most sought after blogs in the UK working with top beauty brands.

Nominations for the awards shortlist can be made at www.cosmopolitan.co.uk/blogawards2011