Call for participation from September 1 to 26
AUTHOR BOOK AWARD / HISTORICAL BOOK AWARD / PHOTO TEXT BOOK AWARD

On April 29th the Board of Directors reached the decision to cancel the 51st edition of Les Rencontres d’Arles. However, despite the cancellation of the exhibitions, we want to continue our support for photographic publishing by maintaining, in an adapted format, the 2020 edition of the Book Awards.

Created 50 years ago, at the same time as the festival, the Book Award contributing to the extraordinary development of photography publishing and to its wide distribution. Since 2015, the Fondation Jan Michalski pour l’Ecriture et la Littérature is the main partner of the Book Awards.

The 2020 Book Awards grants nowadays three categories of books, thereby:

The Author Book Award rewards the best author project for a contemporary photography work. It is endowed with 6,000 euros

The Historical Book Award rewards the best documented book on photography or about a photographer. It can either be a thematic or monographic book. It is endowed with 6,000 euros

The Photo Text Book Award rewards the best book mixing images and texts, whether it is through the imbrication of the text in the image, the preponderant place of the writing within a model or a text supporting the photographic idea. It is endowed with 6,000 euros

 A jury of photobook experts will name the Book Awards winners during Paris Photo (12nd – 15th November 2020). The grant will be equally divided between the publisher and the photographer (or to all the authors in case of collaborative or collective works) after the awards ceremony.

Books are selected by open call. Application is open to all photography books and catalogues that have been published between June 1, 2019 and May 31, 2020. Applicants must forward one application form completed for each book by categories, together with two copies of each book.

Books should be sent to the following address:

Les Rencontres d’Arles
Prix du Livre 2020
127 rue du Faubourg Poissonnière
75009 Paris - FRANCE

Applications should be sent imperatively between Wednesday 1st and Saturday 26th of September 2020 (date as postmark). No work will be received and taken into account outside these dates.

Copies will not be returned and will remain the property of the Rencontres d’Arles. One copy will be deposited at the Rencontres d’Arles library, currently located at the École nationale supérieure de la photographie.

The other copy could be presented to the public during an ephemeral exhibition in the framework of Paris Photo, and then possibly during the festival Jimei x Rencontres d'Arles 2020, which will take place from November 27th, 2020 to January 3rd, 2021. Due to the limited available exhibition space, please note that exceptionally the selection of works exhibited during these events will be submitted to the opinion of a pre-jury composed of professionals in the field of photographic publishing, in charge of drawing up a shortlist of about twenty works per category.

For any question regarding the Book Awards, please contact: prixdulivre@rencontres-arles.com.

Main partner of the Book Awards: Fondation Jan Michalski pour l’Écriture et la Littérature.