Choosing the cover of the end-of-year double issue can feel odd. No matter how tumultuous the news (and events in Syria and Georgia are making sure that the holiday season brings little in the way of calm), it swerves away from it. Instead inspiration comes from myriad special features, which this year include everything from efforts to cancel Pushkin in Odessa, to the glories of the Triassic period, to the afterlife of aeroplanes. 

It has become customary for our brilliant designers to come up with two types of cover. The first takes inspiration from just one story to create a single image that nods to the season in some way. The other incorporates all the stories for readers to discover (Christmas Easter eggs, if you like). Last year’s cover was an unapologetically festive version of the second variety: a Christmas tree in suitably seasonal green and red.