7 Things To Do At Photobook Mania 2025

PhMuseum’s new biennial event celebrating photography and printed matter inaugurates on 18–19 October 2025 at Serra Madre, in the beautiful setting of Le Serre dei Giardini, in Bologna, Italy.

This article is realised in collaboration with MPB, Europe’s top camera reseller and main partner of the PhMuseum 2025 Photobook Award. Through this first edition of the open call, one project will be selected to be published as a photobook curated by PhMuseum, who will cover production and distribution costs. In collaboration with PhMuseum, MPB will also identify an author for their Special Mention, granting a €800 voucher to spend on used photo and video gear on mpb.com. Both prize recipient will be announced live on 18 October at Photobook Mania 2025.

A selected group of 23 international publishers and bookshops will gather this Saturday and Sunday in Bologna, Italy, to present their latest titles and share the culture of the Photobook. The fair is an opportunity to meet the creators behind these publications, learn about their passion, and getting inside on their working methodology.

The event will take place in Serra Madre, two twin renovated greenhouses located in the city’s main public park. The venue will also host an exciting program of talks, three exhibitions dedicated to books and dummies, and an award ceremony on Saturday evening. With free entry, the event aims to become a playground for conversation, collaboration and networking.

Purchasing photobook is a way to supporting independent publishing, and enrich your library, or make a meaningful gift whose value could increase over time. Here are some highlights to best organize your time, while you can also browse full program.

1. Explore The Exhibitions /

Dummies and Books from FOLIO 2024/25 Masterclass On Photoobook Making, presents the prototypes developed by fourteen participants under the guidance of Lewis Chaplin, co-founder of Loose Joints. Over the course of eight months, participants have been developing their projects, offering a unique insight into the process that transforms a sequence of images into a complete editorial narrative, with this show becoming an opportunity to see the results of their work.

PhMuseum 2025 Photobook Award Shortlist, organised with the support of MPB, Europe's top camera reseller, displays thirty dummies and projects selected by an international jury composed of Max Pinckers, Yumi Goto, Karla Hiraldo-Voleau, Giuseppe Oliverio, and Camilla Marrese. The show is an opportunity to see a wide range of work and a preview of those soon to be published, including that of the eventual main prize recipient who will publish with PhMuseum.

Cult of Photobooks will present a selection of 12 titles from the PhMuseum Lab's library, curated by Small Photobook Cult. The latter is a project by Gabriele Chiapparini, author of the podcast of the same name, which is dedicated to photobooks and features him talking to photographers as they leaf through their books together, page by page.

2. Attend Talks And The Award Ceremony /

Preceding the main event, Belgian photographer Max Pinckers will offer the talk Speculative Documentary Photography, hosted by Fondazione MAST in collaboration with PhMuseum, on Thursday 16 October at 6:30pm at the MAST.Auditorium. Pinckers will explore his practice, which challenges the conventions of documentary photography as he approaches documentary as both a critical reflection on photography itself and a way of dealing with reality in an attempt to understand it and communicate about it. The talk will be available both in Italian and English, you can book your place for free here.

The presentations will follow during the two days of the book fair – 18 and 19 October - with participating publishers and booksellers from 11 countries discussing their work and that of the artists they publish, including Artphilein Editions (Switzerland), Atelier Tatanka (Italy), Cesura Publish (Italy), Depart Pour l'Image (Italy), FotoEvidence (United States/France), Giostre Edizioni (Italy), GOST Books (United Kingdom), Havaiana Papers + Tiratura (Brazil/Italy), ISIA Urbino (Italy), KABK (The Netherlands), L’Artiere (Italy), Leporello (Italy), Libreria Ulisse (Italy), Macaronibook (Belgium), Muddyisland (Italy), PhMuseum (Italy), RUST Publishing (Poland), RVM Hub (Italy), Studiofaganel (Italy), The Velvet Cell (Germany), Witty Books (Italy), Yogurt Editions (Italy), and Zoetrope Athens (Greece).

Additionally, on Saturday 18 at 6:30pm, it will be the time of the Award Ceremony. Giuseppe Oliverio, PhMuseum Founding and Artistic Director, will disclose the prize recipient of the PhMuseum 2025 Photobook Award, whose work will become a photobook published by PhMuseum. He will further announce the recipient of MPB's Special Mention, who will receive a €800 voucher to spend on used photo and video equipment at MPB. On the same occasion, the recently announced Banca di Bologna Grant worth €1,000 will be awarded to an author residing in Bologna whose work primarily employs the photographic language.

3. Join The Breakfast With Sugar Paper /

On Sunday 19 October at 10 am, the Photobook for Breakfast, organized with Sugar Paper (Modena), will explore photobooks dedicated to the theme Acts Of Resistance to reflect together on the power of the printed publications as a tool for awareness and historical dialogue, with a special focus on the struggle for the liberation of Palestine. Croissants and specialty coffee will be served.

4. Discover PhMuseum’s Annual Printed Magazine /

Saturday 18 October, 6pm will mark the launch of the first issue of PhMuseum’s printed magazine. Titled Imperfetto, it is the first editorial printed issue in fourteen years of activity at PhMuseum. It is made possible thanks to the work of sixty-eight artists and eleven contributors.

It was conceived and designed in-house at PhMuseum Lab in Bologna, Italy. The illustrations you will find across the pages were realised in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The papers were kindly provided by Cartiere del Garda in Riva del Garda, Italy. Typefaces were designed by ECAL students as part of ECAL Typefaces in Lausanne, Switzerland. The magazine was printed and bound by Grafiche Antiga in Treviso, Italy, in the month of September 2025.

Come get your copy to learn more some behind the scene with Giuseppe Oliverio, PhMuseum Founding and Artistic Director, and Camilla Marrese, PhMuseum Visual Editor.

5. Enroll For The Workshop /

The intensive Dummy Deep Dive workshop, led by American photographer Aaron Schuman, is aimed at those who are in the midst of developing a photobook dummy of their own, or have the ambitions to do so with a recent body of work. Through techniques associated with “close reading”, the workshop will explore how elements such as structure, motifs, sequencing, syntax, and contextualisation can be identified, played with, and bring newfound focus, coherence and meaning to a body of photographic work within the form of a photobook.

There are only two spots left, book yours here.

6. Screenings & Drinks After Dark /

On both day, starting at 7 pm, the program includes the screening of shortlisted artists from the PhMuseum 2025 Photography Grant and Kranj Foto Fest, offering a diverse range of approaches and stories from photographers operating worldwide.

On Saturday, right after the Award Ceremony, there will be the opportunity to spend some time together in a more casual atmosphere, with some drinks and music until 10pm – a nice opportunity to enjoy the weekend and meet people.

7. Support PhMuseum

If you like what we do and would like to know more, you can find our team in two area of the fair: at the entrace with the Info & Merch point, and at the PhMuseum table among those of other publishers.

This is an opportunity to be among the first to get your hands on the first issue of PhMuseum's Annual printed magazine, and an occasion to purchase Photobook Mania 2025's official tote bags (only 48 hand-silkscreened units!) and t-shirts, in addition to our former books and festival's catalogues. Every item you take home is a direct contribution to support the fair and our commitment in sharing visual culture.

Thank you and see you soon in Bologna!

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The event is also made possible thanks to the contribution of the Municipality of Bologna | Settore Cultura e Creatività, the sponsorship of MPB, the collaboration with Banca di Bologna, and the cultural partnership with Patto per la lettura del Comune di Bologna (Bologna Municipality Reading Pact) and Card Cultura. Media partners: About Bologna and ZERO.

All information and the complete program are available at phmuseum.com/photobook-mania.