Photography Contest
The Paris Photo - Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards 2026
Deadline |
09/05/26Theme |
PortfolioTerritory |
WorldwideEligibility |
Open to allEntry Fees |
$30Prizes |
Cash PrizeHost |
Aperture FoundationInitiated in November 2012 by Aperture and Paris Photo, the Paris Photo–Aperture 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 Catalog 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 appear online and in a special take-away catalogue, to be released at Paris Photo. An exhibition of shortlisted books will also travel internationally following their display in Paris.
Photography Catalog of the Year Prize
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 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 appear online and in a special take-away catalog, to be released at Paris Photo. An exhibition of shortlisted books will also travel internationally following their display in Paris.
Exhibition
Each year, the thirty-five shortlisted books are exhibited around the world, ensuring maximum exposure for all titles, including the winners in each category.
This year, in addition to being seen at Paris Photo, the shortlisted books will be exhibited at Printed Matter, New York; Medium Photo Festival, San Diego; Copenhagen Photo Festival; Foto Wien, Vienna; The Reference, Seoul; Lightbox Photo Library, Taipei; and Istituto Italiano di Fotografia, Milan. For more information on the venues, please see the Aperture website.
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; Self Publish Riga, Riga Photomonth, Latvia; Fotofestiwal, Lodz, Poland; Look3 Festival of the Photograph, Charlottesville, Virginia; and Landskrona Foto Festival, Landskrona, Sweden
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 appear online and in a special take-away catalogue, to be released at Paris Photo. An exhibition of shortlisted books will also travel internationally following their display in Paris.
Photography Catalog of the Year Prize
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 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 appear online and in a special take-away catalog, to be released at Paris Photo. An exhibition of shortlisted books will also travel internationally following their display in Paris.
Exhibition
Each year, the thirty-five shortlisted books are exhibited around the world, ensuring maximum exposure for all titles, including the winners in each category.
This year, in addition to being seen at Paris Photo, the shortlisted books will be exhibited at Printed Matter, New York; Medium Photo Festival, San Diego; Copenhagen Photo Festival; Foto Wien, Vienna; The Reference, Seoul; Lightbox Photo Library, Taipei; and Istituto Italiano di Fotografia, Milan. For more information on the venues, please see the Aperture website.
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; Self Publish Riga, Riga Photomonth, Latvia; Fotofestiwal, Lodz, Poland; Look3 Festival of the Photograph, Charlottesville, Virginia; and Landskrona Foto Festival, Landskrona, Sweden
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$1,000 cash prizes | Winning image(s) published in AAP Magazine #59 | Extensive press coverage and global recognition
© Stephen Rauch
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