Kerry Jones has reported here that Zoo Press sent the following email to its contestants:

Unfortunately, the entry fees for the relatively few number of submissions we received went toward promoting the prizes;(specifically we received approximately 350 submissions for two prizes totaling less than $10,000, which we put into a full page ad in the Atlantic Monthly and two other smaller email campaigns, to our financial loss).

He also notes that Zoo Press did not place a full-page ad, but took out a digest-size ad in the September 2003 issue. (Question: Even accounting for hosting, email is relatively free, no?)

Azevedo has yet to return any of my calls. I will try and confirm the nature of the Atlantic ad in the next few days.

[UPDATE: I’ve heard back from the Atlantic. As reported here by Kerry Jones, the half-page ad rate is $5,390. The Atlantic has confirmed with me that they did run a half-page ad (not the full-page one implied by Azevedo) in September 2003. However, quite understandably, they cannot divulge details about what Zoo Press paid and what the terms of the contract were. So whether Zoo Press negotiated the price or not remains a mystery. Azevedo does not return my calls. As always, the forum here is open for us to hear his side. But he would seem to prefer silence.]