2026 Australia-New Zealand Photobook Awards
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Opens1 Dec 2025
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Deadline9 Feb 2026
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Link
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Entry fee€ 32
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Author
- Topics Awards
The Awards honour printed photobooks, dummy books, and student projects. Selected by an independent jury, prize recipients and shortlisted works are exhibited at the MEL Photobook Fair, offering artists recognition within the photography community.
Overview
The Australian & New Zealand Photobook Awards, presented by Photo Collective, is an annual award dedicated to recognising excellence, innovation, and critical storytelling in contemporary photobook practice across Australia and New Zealand. Originally founded by Momento Pro and now continued by Photo Collective, the award has become an important platform for photographers, artists, and publishers working with the book as a primary artistic form. It celebrates both finished, printed photobooks and pre-press or dummy projects, acknowledging the photobook not only as an object but as a medium for narrative, experimentation, and cultural dialogue. The Awards culminate in a public presentation and exhibition as part of the MEL Photobook Fair in Naarm/Melbourne, situating the shortlisted and winning works within a broader international photobook community.
Practical Info
The Awards are open to photographers and artists based in, or connected to, Australia and New Zealand, with categories for professionally published photobooks, self-published titles, pre-press or dummy books, and student works. Entrants are usually required to submit a digital PDF for initial judging, with printed copies requested for physical book entries. Entry fees vary by category, with reduced fees for students.
Shortlisted books are reviewed by an independent panel of judges drawn from the fields of photography, publishing, and visual arts, with assessment based on photographic quality, sequencing and narrative coherence, design and production, originality, and the effectiveness of the book as a communicative form. Prize recipients and finalists receive public recognition, exhibition opportunities, and, depending on the year, additional prizes such as production support or professional development opportunities.
The 2026 edition is scheduled around the MEL Photobook Fair, which takes place on 21–22 March 2026 at Balam Balam Place in Merri-bek, Naarm/Melbourne.
About Photo Collective
Photo Collective is an Australian photography organisation committed to supporting photographers at all stages of practice through awards, exhibitions, publications, and community-focused initiatives. By continuing the Photobook Awards, Photo Collective reinforces the importance of the photobook as a vital and evolving form within contemporary photography. The Awards are presented in partnership with Tall Poppy Press and are embedded within the MEL Photobook Fair, a major gathering for photobook artists, publishers, and audiences that includes book fairs, exhibitions, talks, and networking events. Together, these initiatives aim to foster meaningful engagement with photobooks, encourage experimental publishing practices, and provide sustained visibility for photographic work in book form.
