Maribor Photobook Award ends 30 September 2025

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Deadline: 5 November 2025. The Maribor Photobook Award returns in 2025 to celebrate excellence and innovation in contemporary photobook publishing. We invite publishers, photographers, artists, designers from around the world to submit their published or self-published books, created in the past two years.

This award is not intended for dummies or unpublished projects – only completed and published photobooks are eligible. Zines are welcome and encouraged.

This year’s edition welcomes submissions on any theme – the award remains open to diverse photographic voices, concepts, and approaches.

However, we are also placing a special focus on the subtheme: “Protest”.

We are particularly interested in books that engage with the many forms of social resistance and activism that shape our world today. From silent acts of defiance to collective uprisings, from struggles for human rights to movements for equality and justice – photography has played a crucial role in documenting, interpreting, and amplifying these moments.

Books that meaningfully address this subtheme will receive additional consideration during the jury process.

All participating books will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
– Photography
– Coherence of the concept
– Production quality
– Topic relevance

THE JURY

The international jury is composed of 4 members. All members have a lot of experience in the field of photography and photobooks and each one is a specialist in his own field of work.

They will take care of the selection process for the Maribor photobook award 2025. The head of the jury is still Tanja Lazetić (SLO). The other judges will be Grzegorz Kosmala (POL), Aneta Kowalczyk (POL) and Birgit Sattlecker (AUT).

Prizes:

Main Prize: €3,000
Best “Protest” Photobook: €500 (also considered for the main prize)
Best Photobook from Southeast Europe: €500 (supporting and strengthening photobook production in a region where resources for publishing are often limited. Eligible countries for the SE Europe award: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia)

Photo Contest Website: https://theangrybat.com/https-theangrybat-com-portfolio/photobook_award-2025/