About

Initiated 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

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.

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.

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.

About Paris Photo

Paris Photo is 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 program with leading figures in the field.

About Aperture

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.

How to enter

• Generate your submission form
• Complete payment via picter.com
• Send one copy of each submitted photobook with your submission form(s) so that the package arrives at Aperture's New York City office by Friday, September 8, 2023. Please allow ample time to enter and mail your book. Late submissions will not be considered by the jury.

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 to that particular category
• Photographer or author's name, as well as the designer and editor's names
• Book dimensions (width by height), number of pages, edition number or print run
• Short description of where the book is sold
• An image or render of the book cover (JPG file)
• Hardcopy of the book, with printed submission summary forms, to be mailed to Aperture's offices

Please note: Aperture is not responsible for the return of submissions. All books submitted to the awards remain the property of Aperture and will become part of the Aperture library. If your book is selected, you will need to send a minimum of two additional copies (and up to three additional copies) to become part of the exhibition of shortlisted books.

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

EXTENDED! June 14– July 30: 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 or before September 8, 2023. Please be aware that the time required for packages to be received may be longer than usual. All books should be mailed to Aperture's New York City office. 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

ATTN: Aperture / PhotoBook Awards

548 W 28th Street, Floor 4

New York, NY 10001

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 9, 2022, and September 8, 2023. Books produced before September 8, 2023, but not due for release or publication until a later date in 2023, are also eligible.

• Entries for this award may only be submitted by the photographer/artist, the publisher, or a third party acting with the consent of the photographer/artist.

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 9, 2022, and September 8, 2023. Books produced before September 8, 2023, but not due for release or publication until a later date in 2023, are also eligible.

• Entries for this award may only be submitted by the photographer/artist, the publisher, or a third party acting with the consent of the photographer/artist.

Photography Catalog of the Year

• An exhibition catalog or museum publication in which the dominant content is photography. Catalogs can feature the work of one or more photographers/artists, should be produced in physical form, and be 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 and will not be considered, however, catalogs 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.

• Catalogs must be produced or published between September 9, 2022, and September 8, 2023. Catalogs produced before September 8, 2023, but not due for release or publication until a later date in 2023, are also eligible.

*Books by or featuring the work of more than one photographer/artist are eligible in all categories.

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; Copenhagen Photo Festival, Denmark; Photo Ireland, Dublin; Backlight Photo Festival, Tampere, Finland; FotoFocus, Cincinnati; IMA Concept Store, Tokyo; Photobook Melbourne Festival, Australia; Huis Marseille, Amsterdam; Self Publish Riga, Riga Photomonth, Latvia; Fotofestiwal, Lodz, Poland; Look3 Festival of the Photograph, Charlottesville, Virginia; and Landskrona Foto Festival, Sweden.

Juror information

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, 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.