Covers from magazines including Cosmopolitan, Radio Times, Esquire, Stylist, The Big Issue and Student Farmer magazine have made the top-10 shortlist.
The winner will be decided by the online vote and announced at this year's PPA Awards on 10 July.
Among the finalists are The Big Issue's Christmas cover, from the independent publisher The Big Issue Company, featuring Father Christmas.
Top Gear's 20th anniversary cover, from its publisher Immediate Media, is also on the list, as well as the issue of IPC Media's Country Life magazine, which was guest-edited by Prince Charles in November 2013.
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This year's front cover of the year will follow last year's winner, the 'take me, I'm yours' issue of Time Out, which was the first free issue of the magazine in 2013.