Paper Photo Dummy Award 2026
On August 28, 2026, a meeting of the jury for the Paper Photo Award / Paper Photo Dummy Award 2026 competition was held in Sosnowiec. A total of 160 publications from 38 countries (across 5 continents) were submitted to the competition in two categories.
In the “photobook dummy” category, the jury decided to accept 31 publications for the post-competition exhibition, from which a shortlist of 6 publications (finalists) was selected. In addition to the shortlist, the jury members awarded 5 honorable mentions (each jury member was entitled to select one).
The winning publication, along with details about the honorable mentions, will be announced on September 19 at the awards gala.
Paper Photo Dummy Award – shortlist (in alphabetical order):
- Akta – Justyna Cieślikowska
- Butter melts at 36,6 – Katerina Kouzmitcheva
- Don’t Forget To Go Home – Menyhért Hivessy
- Franex – Zuzanna Sczyrba
- No hay cielo detrás – Paula Elena Ramos
- Nòstos (Homecoming) – Andrea Agostini
Paper Photo Dummy Award – List of Publications Accepted for the Exhibition (in alphabetical order):
- Akta – Justyna Cieślikowska
- Biuro rzeczy znalezionych czyli jak kwiat do kożucha – Karolina Gabryś
- Butter melts at 36,6 – Katerina Kouzmitcheva
- Ciemne myśli – Jakub Nowaczyk
- Cold Trail – Szabolcs Barakonyi
- Delicious & Healthy Memories – Anatoly Suzdaltsev
- Don’t Forget To Go Home – Menyhért Hivessy
- Embrace – Weronika Nitsch
- Franex – Zuzanna Sczyrba
- Horyzont został już tylko w mojej głowie – Alicja Gaszta
- How Distant, How Close – Barbara Kubska, Zygmunt Kubski
- i dont need anything else just remember to keep in touch – Fernando Pimenta
- If the Sun could talk to me – Anna Forgách
- jakby ich nie było – Monika Cyprian
- MEN IN GREY SUITS: An Anthropological Study of a Species – Rosa Rodríguez
- MIDDLE GROUND – Joe Wood
- mleko, uśmiech i chleb – Iga Rudnicka
- Moratorium – Wiktoria Dąbrowska
- Mutant Flowers – Natalia Kolbiarz
- NAISSAAR- UNE ÎLE – ANNA SAVILEPPÄ
- No hay cielo detrás – Paula Elena Ramos
- Nòstos (Homecoming) – Andrea Agostini
- Paths – Alessandro Mallamaci
- Przed Wspomnieniem – Kuba Stępień
- Pustka po tych, których boję się stracić – Sylwia Pawłowska
- SKRAWEK – Bartek Glaza
- Traces of Echoes / Breath – Liao Wen-Hsuan
- Trust – Eduardo Sousa Ribeiro
- tutto ciò che resta – Elena Lovisolo
- Vanitas Fair – Magdalena Legutki
- Years in Moments – Vlada Lobus
The patron of the competition award is Polish Senator Joanna Sekuła
ARCHIVAL INFORMATION:
We invite you to submit your entries to the international Paper Photo Award Dummy 2026 competition dedicated entirely to photographic publications! Category “Photobook dummy”:
- What publications can be submitted?
1.1. For the competition in the “photobook dummy” category, we accept projects prepared in paper form (so-called dummies) of photobooks that have not yet been published. Photobooks published through self-publishing & zines are also eligible for this category, provided that their total print run did not exceed 30 copies. The basic criterion for evaluation in the competition is how the artistic expression resonates in the book form. The photographs in the project are not evaluated, but rather the photobook as a specific creative expression.
1.2. Dummies created after January 1, 2025, may be submitted. - Awards
1.1. Main prize: PLN 5,000! [approximately: 1150 EURO]
1.2. Six dummies will be shortlisted, and their authors will be invited to Sosnowiec (Poland). The festival will provide them with accommodation during the opening weekend.
1.3. Each member of the jury will award their own individual honorary distinction.
1.4. Approximately 30 dummies will be presented as part of the Paper Photo Dummy Award 2026 exhibition at Paper Photo Festival. - Dates
1.1. Start of the competition: July 10, 2026.
1.2. Extended deadline: August 25, 2026 (the date of delivery of the book is decisive!).
1.3. Announcement of the shortlist: by September 1, 2026.
1.4. Announcement of the winner and opening of the post-competition exhibition: September 18-20, 2026. - Submissions
To submit a book, you must:
4.1. Fill out the form available: [closed]
4.2. Send a properly secured copy of the book by August 25, 2026 (the date of delivery is decisive!) to the following address: Zamek Sielecki, 2 Zamkowa Street, 41-211 Sosnowiec, POLAND (with the note “PPF” on the envelope).
If you need to provide details for the courier, please provide the following: Paweł Pytel, email: pawel@paperphoto.pl, tel. (+48) 664910141 - The competition jury consists of:
– Franek Ammer (Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź / Fotofestiwal),
– Jakub Dziewit (Photography Department at JDU / unContemporary),
– Magdalena Guzik (Museum of Photography in Cracow),
– Aneta Kowalczyk (Blow Up Press),
– Katarzyna Łata (Zamek Sielecki). - Full contest rules: click here