10×10 Photobooks is pleased to announce a new grant cycle and call for applications as part of its annual photobook research grants program, aimed at encouraging and supporting scholarship on under-explored topics in photobook history.

For this cycle, 10×10 is seeking submissions related to its forthcoming publication on the history of photobooks from Africa and its diaspora.
We invite proposals for photobook research focusing on Black identity, Africa, and the African diaspora.
The concept of the photobook may be interpreted in the broadest sense possible, including classic bound books, portfolios, personal albums, unpublished books, zines, digital media, scrapbooks, posters, or other ephemera.
Proposals will be evaluated based on the importance of the proposed topic, the significance and/or relative obscurity of the subject, and the strength of the proposed approach.

The Grant

10×10 Photobooks will award three grants for this fifth cycle (2026–2027), each in the amount of $2,500, to be paid in two installments over the course of the project.

Grantee Expectations

Grantees are expected to present the results of their research in a 15- to 20-minute Zoom presentation, along with an approximately 1,500-word written essay, including illustrations and photographs.
Final research must be submitted in English and will be due within one year of the grant being awarded.

10×10 will provide assistance, where possible and desired, with in-progress reviews, identifying information, introductions, and related support.

Please note that this grant is intended for research purposes only and does not fund the production of a photobook.

Application Process

Applicants must complete the grant application form in English.
The application includes a project description (no more than 1,000 words) and a brief biography, and must be submitted by midnight (ET) on March 23, 2026.
If multiple applicants are included in a proposal, information about additional researchers may be provided in the Notes field.

There is no application fee.
Grant recipients will be announced in May 2026.

Program Rules

Grantees retain all rights to their work and are free to submit or use the results of their research with other platforms or programs, provided they acknowledge that initial research support was provided by 10×10 Photobooks.
10×10 retains the right to share the results on its website and platforms.

Applicants may submit multiple proposals, and a single application may include multiple researchers (please note that the grant amount applies to the entire project, not per researcher).

The program is open to all applicants (researchers, writers, editors, curators, etc.), regardless of organizational affiliation, academic status or discipline, or nationality.

Applicants should not have a pre-existing grant for the specific work being proposed.
Priority will be given to new research that is not currently funded.
If existing support is in place, applicants should describe it in the Notes field and explain how the proposed research differs from work already funded.