Photography Contest
The Paris Photo - Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards 2023
Deadline |
CLOSEDTheme |
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
Featured Photo Contest
AAP Magazine #48/Portrait
$1,000 cash prizes | Winning image(s) published in AAP Magazine #48 | Extensive press coverage and global recognition
© Aline Smithson
Best Photography Contests in 2023
Each year, there are hundreds of photography competitions all over the world, so we've decided to select for you the best of the best! Our selection of the best photo contests in 2023 is thoroughly curated to help you, whether you are a professional photographer or an amateur, to help find your next creative breakthrough. These all-star competitions offer the greatest opportunities for international exposure and/or incredible financial benefits. Some of them are closing soon, so get your photo submissions in!
ENDS 05/12/25
This prize, with a production budget of €25,000, is open to any new photographer or artist using photography, submitting a previously unpublished dummy book.
ENDS 05/13/25
Our 48th printed issue of AAP Magazine will feature the best projects showcasing the theme "Portrait".
ENDS 05/16/25
Submit your best work to our photo competition for a chance to win up to $11,500 in cash prizes, be selected by our curators for the PX3 exhibition in Paris and inclusion in the Annual PX3 book.
ENDS 05/18/25
MonoVisions Photography Awards are an international open call for photographers using black and white medium to express their visual language.
ENDS 05/18/25
The Global Peace Photo Award recognizes and promotes photographers from all over the world whose pictures capture human efforts towards a peaceful world and the quest for beauty and goodness in our lives.
ENDS 05/30/25
If you're a passionate amateur or professional photographer, we invite you to share your photographic project with us.
ENDS 05/31/25
POWER will be the main theme of the season. The Grand Prize of USD $200,000 will be awarded to one winner from any category this season, not limited to the main theme.
ENDS 05/31/25
The international photography contest URBAN Photo Awards is here: registrations will open on March 28th and this 16th edition will be the largest and most important ever.
ENDS 06/01/25
This year’s PhotoVogue Global Open Call celebrates the limitless ways women see and are seen—embracing photography and film as powerful tools to reclaim, redefine, and expand visual storytelling
ENDS 06/01/25
The Paula Riff Award was created by the Center of Photographic Art and Lenscratch in 2021 as a way to celebrate and continue the legacy of artist Paula Riff.
ENDS 06/02/25
BUDAPEST INTERNATIONAL FOTO AWARDS is an international platform for photographers from all levels and genres to share their best images with the creative community in Hungary and Eastern Europe.
ENDS 06/02/25
The Lenscratch Student Prize has opened up a whole new line of connections, opportunities and exposure.
ENDS 06/05/25
Jon Lee Anderson, president of the jury of the 32nd edition
ENDS 06/10/25
Four winners will be chosen and will see their work exhibited at the Paris Photo fair
ENDS 06/20/25
Be Featured in our June 2025 Online Juried Solo Exhibition!
ENDS 06/30/25
Wherever you are in the world, we invite you to send us your most beautiful Colors or Black & White street photos.
ENDS 08/01/25
TIFA connects photographers from around the world with the creative community in Tokyo, Japan, providing them with an excellent platform to present their work to a new market.
ENDS 08/05/25
The 2025 Global Contest promotes climate justice. We believe climate change is a human rights issue, so we are looking for images that show people impacted by the escalating climate crisis.
ENDS 09/01/25
The Ian Parry Scholarship is divided into two categories: The Sunday Times Award for Achievement and The Canon Award for Potential.