International self published photography book competition

  Blurb, a publishing and marketing platform that makes it easy to design, publish and sell professional-quality books, has launched its fourth annual Photography Book Now competition and is calling for Canadian entries.
  The competition, juried by world-renown photographers including Steven McCurry, who famously shot the “Afghan Girl” photo, and Jon Levy, founder and director of FOTO8, offers a $25,000 Grand Prize.


  Photography Book Now celebrates the very best in self-published photography books and the photographers behind them. For the first time, the competition will also celebrate up-and-coming talent with a Student category. Entries will be accepted in three professional categories – Fine Art, Documentary and Travel.


  Noted photography book expert Darius Himes returns to the competition for the fourth year as lead judge. In this role, Himes will lead a panel of distinguished photographers, publishers, editors and gallery curators who will jury the Photography Book Now competition. The 2011 competition jurors include:


Markus Schaden, Publisher and Curator
Larissa Leclair, Founder, Indie Photobook Library
Jon Levy, Founder and Director, FOTO8
Chris Boot, Executive Director, Aperture Foundation
Matt Eich, Photographer, LUCEO
Steven McCurry, Photographer, Magnum
Whitney Lawson, Photo Editor, Travel + Leisure
Larry Fink, Photographer
Henry Horenstein, Educator and Photographer
Laura Brunow Miner, Founder, Pictory

  “Photography Book Now offers photographers from all backgrounds and from around the world an incredible opportunity to showcase their best work in book form,” said Darius Himes, lead judge of Photography Book Now. “We are thrilled to have assembled such a prestigious group of photography professionals as jurors for this year’s competition. Submissions from the competition’s first three years have set the bar high, and our jurors are looking forward to seeing even more inspiring work this year.”


   Submissions will be accepted through 3:00 pm PDT on July 14, 2011, at
http://photographybooknow.blurb.com/.


  Leading photography and design organizations have joined Photography Book Now as sponsors. Hewlett Packard returns as the sponsor of the $25,000 grand prize. Adobe will be supplying $5,000 to each of the four category winners, and New Page Corp. is the exclusive People’s Choice sponsor. Other category prizes will be provided by liveBooks, Lensbaby, Wacom, Nik Software and X-Rite. Additional sponsors include Mohawk Fine Papers, British Journal of Photography, Photo District News, Digital Photo Pro Magazine, CENTER, D-Photo, FOTO8, iStockphoto, Monster Children Magazine, and PHOTONEWS. To view a complete list of sponsors and prize packages, please visit www.photographybooknow.com/sponsors.


  The finalists’ books in each category will become part of the permanent collections at the International Center of Photography, the Indie Photobook Library and the George Eastman House.


  “Creating a beautifully produced photography book while retaining complete control of the creative process is what every artist craves,” said Eileen Gittins, founder and CEO, Blurb. “We also have heard from past winners of Photography Book Now that having their work recognized by such distinguished jurors as well as featured at international photography events around the world has opened new doors for them professionally. We are deeply committed to celebrating the medium of photography books and are proud to present Photography Book Now for its fourth year.”


  For more information and to enter the competition, please visit http://www.photographybooknow.com.