About the Paris Photo – Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards
Initiated in November 2012 by Aperture Foundation and Paris Photo, the Paris Photo–Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards celebrate the photobook’s contribution to the evolving narrative of photography, with three major categories: First PhotoBook, PhotoBook of the Year, and Photography Catalogue of the Year.
What winners receive
The First PhotoBook Prize
A $10,000 prize will be awarded to the photographer(s)/artist(s) whose first finished, publicly available photobook is judged to be the best of the year. Twenty books from this category will be selected for the shortlist, presented to the Jury for the final selection and exhibited during Paris Photo.
The PhotoBook of the Year Prize
This prize will be awarded to the photographer(s)/artist(s), and publisher responsible, for the photobook judged to be the best of the year. Ten books from this category will be selected for the shortlist, presented to the Jury for the final selection and exhibited during Paris Photo.
The Photography Catalogue of the Year Prize
Awarded to the publication, publisher, and/or organizing institution responsible for the exhibition catalogue or museum publication judged to be the best of the year. Five books from this category will be selected for the shortlist, presented to the Jury for the final selection and exhibited during Paris Photo.
The shortlisted books, accompanied by the jury’s comments, will be featured in the fall 2018 edition of The PhotoBook Review issue 015 (published by Aperture Foundation), to be released at Paris Photo.
All books must be received by Aperture’s New York office by September 14, 2018.
About Paris Photo
Paris Photo, the world's largest international art fair dedicated to the photographic medium. The annual event for collectors, professionals, artists, and enthusiasts, Paris Photo offers its visitors the most qualitative and diverse selection of artworks alongside an ambitious public programme with leading figures in the field.
About Aperture Foundation
Aperture, a not-for-profit foundation, connects the photo community and its audiences with the most inspiring work, the sharpest ideas, and with each other – in print, in person, and online.
Created in 1952 by photographers and writers as “common ground for the advancement of photography”, Aperture today is a multi-platform publisher and center for the photo community. From our base in New York, we produce, publish, and present a program of photography projects, locally and internationally.
All books must be received by Aperture’s New York office by September 14, 2018.
How to enter
- Generate your submission form
- Complete payment via picter.com
- Send your photobook(s) with your submission form(s) to Aperture Foundation in New York
You will need to provide the following information for each book submitted:
- Book title, year of publication, and publisher information
- A short description / summary of the book and why it’s being submitted that particular category
- The photographer or author’s name, as well as the designer and editor’s names
- Book dimensions (in inches and centimeters), number of pages, the edition number or print run
- A short description of where the book is sold
- An image or render of the book cover (JPG file)
Entry fees
- First PhotoBook: $30 per book
- PhotoBook of the Year: $60 for first entry from a given publisher, $30 for each subsequent entry from the same publisher
- Photography Catalogue of the Year: $60 for first entry from a given publisher, $30 for each subsequent entry from the same publisher
From May 30, 2018 to June 30, 2018: Early Bird Special
- First PhotoBook: $20 per project
- PhotoBook of the Year: $50 for first project from a given publisher, $20 for each subsequent project from the same publisher
- Photography Catalogue of the Year: $50 for first project from a given publisher, $20 for each subsequent project from the same publisher
Delivery of books
All books must be received by Aperture’s New York office before September 14, 2018. This date does not include postmark. All entries must be physically received by this date and there will be no refunds if the books are not delivered on time. Books should be sent to:
Aperture Foundation
Attn: PhotoBook Awards
547 West 27th Street, 4th Floor
New York, New York 10001
All books must be received by Aperture’s New York office by September 14, 2018.
Timeline
Call For Entries Open
30 May 2018
Submission Deadline
14 September 2018
Shortlist announcement
September 2018
Winner announcement
9 November 2018
Exhibition Start
8 December 2018
Exhibition End
3 February 2019
Requirements
Submission Requirements
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Book cover [upload an image or render of the book cover]
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Author / Photographer information
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Book dimensions (in inches and centimeters), number of pages, the edition number or print run
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ISBN number
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Short description where the book is sold
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Book title, year of publication, and publisher information
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Book cover [upload an image or render of the book cover]
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A short description / summary of the book and why it’s being submitted to that particular category
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The photographer or author’s name, as well as the designer and editor’s names
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Biography and CV
Entrance Fees
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From May 30 - June 30: Early Bird Special
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First PhotoBook: $30 per book
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PhotoBook of the Year: $60 for first entry from a given publisher, $30 for each additional entry
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Photography Catalogue of the Year: $60 for first entry from a given publisher, $30 for each additional entry
Judging criteria
First PhotoBook
- A book in which the dominant content is photography, featuring the work of one or more photographer/artist,* produced in physical form, and available for purchase or distributed free of charge, whether via trade distribution, print on demand, a gallery or online outlet, or otherwise. (“Virtual” or electronic books that exist only in digital form are not eligible for entry at this time.)
- A book that is the first by the given photographer/artist is eligible for entry, whether a first self-published book, a first limited-edition book, a first gallery-published collection, a first book made available by print on demand, or a first book published by a publisher for release in the book trade. A first book published by an established publisher is eligible for entry even if the photographer/artist previously released a self-published book or a limited-edition book for distribution outside the trade. However, once a photographer/artist has had a book published by a mainstream publisher in the book trade, a subsequent book (whether self-published or not) is not eligible for entry.
- Books must be produced or published between September 1, 2017, and September 14, 2018. Books produced before September 14, 2018, but not due for release or publication until a later date in 2018, are also eligible.
PhotoBook of the Year
- A book in which the dominant content is photography, whether authored by more than one photographer/artist* or authored by an editor, produced in physical form, and published in an edition of no less than one hundred copies.
- Books must be produced or published between September 1, 2017, and September 14, 2018. Books produced before September 14, 2018, but not due for release or publication until a later date in 2018, are also eligible.
- Entries for either award may only be submitted by the photographer/artist, the publisher, or a third party acting with the consent of the photographer/artist.
Photography Catalogue of the Year
- An exhibition catalogue or museum publication in which the dominant content is photography. Catalogues can feature the work of one or more photographers/artists, should be produced in physical form, and available for purchase or distributed free of charge, whether via trade distribution, print on demand, a gallery or online outlet, or otherwise.
- Text-only publications are not eligible, however, catalogues can include extensive research, writing, and analysis—whether dedicated to the oeuvre of a single photographer, or an exploration of a collection based in photographic history and practice.
- Catalogues must be produced or published between September 1, 2017, and September 14, 2018. Catalogues produced before September 14, 2018, but not due for release or publication until a later date in 2018, are also eligible.
Books by or featuring the work of more than one photographers/artists are eligible in all categories.
The awards will be judged in two stages. An initial jury will meet in New York to select the shortlisted entries in both categories. The final winners will be decided by a separate jury that will meet in Paris immediately before Paris Photo begins. The initial jury will include representatives of both Paris Photo and Aperture Foundation, and the final jury will include neither.
Each award winner will be chosen from the juried shortlist, all of which will be exhibited at Paris Photo. The fall 2018 issue of The PhotoBook Review (published by Aperture Foundation) will feature all of the shortlisted books. Following their display during Paris Photo, an exhibition of the thirty shortlisted books will travel to Aperture Gallery in New York and may be exhibited at other venues.
All books must be received by Aperture’s New York office by September 14, 2018.
Exhibitions
Paris Photo, November 9 – 12, 2017
Each year, the thirty-five shortlisted books are exhibited around the world, ensuring maximum exposure for all titles, including the winners in each category.
The 2017 Shortlist Exhibition traveled to the following venues:
- Medium Festival of Photography, San Diego, California, October 18-21, 2018
- Cortona on the Move, Italy, July 13-October 2, 2018
- Photo Basel, Switzerland, June 12-17, 2018
- Triennial of Photography, Hamburg, Germany, June 7-17, 2018
- Palm Springs Photo Festival, Palm Springs, California, May 6-11, 2018
- Lumiere Brothers Center for Photography, Moscow, April-May 2018
- Month of Photography, Venice Arts, Venice, California, April 8-April 27, 2018
- Duesseldorf Photo Books, Germany, February 16-18, 2018
- 6 pt Book Design Conference, Vilnius, Lithuania, November 25, 2017
- Aperture Gallery, New York, December 8, 2017 – February 3, 2018
- Paris Photo, Paris, November 9 – 12, 2017
In past years, venues have included Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester, New York; Flash Forward Festival, Boston, Massachusetts; Copenhagen Photo Festival, Denmark; Photo Ireland, Dublin; Backlight Photo Festival, Tampere, Finland; FotoFocus, Cincinnati, Ohio; IMA Concept Store, Tokyo, Japan; Photobook Melbourne Festival, Melbourne, Australia; Huis Marseille, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival, Toronto, Canada; Self Publish Riga, Riga Photomonth, Latvia; Fotofestiwal, Lodz, Poland; Look3 Festival of the Photograph, Charlottesville, Virginia; and Landskrona Foto Festival, Landskrona, Sweden
All books must be received by Aperture’s New York office by September 14, 2018.
Paris Photo-Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards Shortlist 2017
Previous winners
2017
First PhotoBook, Mathieu Asselin, Monsanto: A Photographic Investigation
PhotoBook of the Year, Dayanita Singh, Museum Bhavan
Catalogue of the year, Mattie Boom, Hans Rooseboom, New Realities: Photography in the 19th Century
2016
First PhotoBook, Michael Christopher Brown, Libyan Sugar
PhotoBook of the year, Gregory Halpern, ZZYZX
Catalogue of the year, Karolina Puchala-Rojek & Karolina Ziebinska-Lewandowska, Wojciech Zamecznik: Photo-graphics
2015
First PhotoBook, Daniel Mayrit, You Haven’t Seen Their Faces
PhotoBook of the year, Thomas Mailaender, Illustrated People
Catalogue of the year, Diane Dufour & Xavier Barral, Images of Conviction: The Construction of Visual Evidence
All books must be received by Aperture’s New York office by September 14, 2018.