Compete 2026 Paris Photo–Aperture PhotoBook Awards
Opportunity Description
International Deadline: September 4, 2026 – The Paris Photo–Aperture PhotoBook Awards are an annual celebration of the photobook’s enduring role within the narrative of photography. The awards, established in 2012, recognize excellence in three major categories of photobook publishing: First PhotoBook, PhotoBook of the Year, and Photography Catalog of the Year. Each year, winners are selected from among nearly one thousand books submitted by artists and publishers from around the world.
ELIGIBILITY
All books must be produced and published between September 7, 2024, and September 5, 2025. Books printed before September 5, 2025, but listed with an official publication date through December 31, 2025, are also eligible.
Entries for the First PhotoBook and PhotoBook of the Year prizes may be submitted only by the photographer or artist, the publisher, or a third party acting with the consent of the photographer or artist.
First PhotoBook:
A book in which the main content is photography, featuring the work of one or more photographers or artists and available for purchase, or distributed free of charge, whether via trade distribution, print on demand, a gallery or online outlet, or otherwise. (Books that exist only in digital form are ineligible for entry at this time.)
A book that is the first by the given photographer(s) or artist(s) 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 or artist previously released a self-published book or a limited-edition book for distribution outside the trade. However, once a photographer or artist has had a book published by a mainstream publisher in the book trade, a subsequent book (whether self-published or not) is ineligible for entry.
PhotoBook of the Year:
A book in which the main content is photography, whether authored by one or more photographers or artists or authored by an editor and published in an edition of no fewer than one hundred copies. (Books that exist only in digital form are ineligible for entry at this time.)
Photography Catalog of the Year:
An exhibition catalog or museum publication in which the main content is photography. Catalogs can feature the work of one or more photographers or artists and should be available for purchase, or distributed free of charge, whether via trade distribution, print on demand, a gallery or online outlet, or otherwise. (Books that exist only in digital form are ineligible for entry at this time.)
Text-only publications are ineligible. But catalogs whose main content is photography may 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.
JURY
The PhotoBook Awards is juried for both the shortlist and final selection. The shortlist jury will convene in New York for three concentrated days of review and deliberation to select thirty-five distinguished books in the three prize categories. The 2026 shortlist is juried by leading figures in the field of photography:
- Alejandro Cartagena, artist
- Alexandra Cunningham Cameron, director of design, Judd Foundation
- Michael Famighetti, editor in chief, Aperture
- Anna Planas, artistic director, Paris Photo
- Anshika Varma, curator and founder, Offset Projects
AWARDS
The final jury, composed of five members, will meet at the Grand Palais, Paris, in November to award a winner for each prize category. The winners will be announced at Paris Photo and online on Friday, November 13. The final jury for the 2026 Paris Photo–Aperture PhotoBook Awards will be announced soon.
The First PhotoBook Prize
A $10,000 prize is awarded to the photographer(s) or artist(s) whose first finished, publicly available photobook is judged to be the best of the year. Twenty books will be shortlisted in this category, presented to the jury for final selection, and exhibited during Paris Photo.
The PhotoBook of the Year Prize
This prize is awarded to the photographer(s) or artist(s) and the publisher of the photobook judged to be the best of the year. Ten books will be shortlisted in this category, presented to the jury for final selection, and exhibited during Paris Photo.
The Photography Catalog of the Year Prize
This prize is awarded to the publication, publisher, and/or organizing institution responsible for the exhibition catalog or museum publication judged to be the best of the year. Five books will be shortlisted in this category, presented to the jury for final selection, and exhibited during Paris Photo.
Exhibition
The thirty-five shortlisted books, accompanied by the jury’s statements, will be on view at Paris Photo. In addition to a presentation at Paris Photo, all the shortlisted books and the winners in each category are exhibited around the world, ensuring maximum exposure for all the titles.
In past years, venues have included Backlight, Tampere, Finland; Copenhagen Photo Festival, Denmark; Flash Forward Festival, Boston; Fotofestiwal, Lodz, Poland; FotoFocus, Cincinnati; Huis Marseille, Amsterdam; IMA Concept Store, Tokyo; Istituto Italiano di Fotografia, Milan; Landskrona Foto, Sweden; PhotoIreland, Dublin; Printed Matter, New York; Tenderbooks, London; and Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester, New York.
ENTRY FEES
- First PhotoBook: $30 per project
- PhotoBook of the Year: $60 for first project from a given publisher, $30 for each subsequent project from the same publisher
- Photography Catalog of the Year: $60 for first project from a given publisher, $30 for each subsequent project from the same publisher
October, 2026: Announcement of shortlist.
November 13, 2026: Announcement of prize winners.
About:
Aperture, a not-for-profit organization, 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.
Aperture Foundation
548 West 28th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10001
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