Text by Julian Lucas

The 35 shortlisted titles for this year's Paris Photo–Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards celebrate the expanding narrative of the photobook.

Since 2012, the Paris Photo–Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards have recognized the photobook's contributions to photography's evolving story.

Each year, 35 books are selected for consideration in three categories: First PhotoBook, PhotoBook of the Year, and Photography Catalogue of the Year. The selection for this year was determined over three days at Aperture's offices in New York, following a review of over 800 entries.

The shortlist jury members included Emilie Boone (art historian), Sonel Breslav (Director of Fairs and Editions, Printed Matter of New York), Darius Himes (International Head of Photographs, Christie's), Lesley A. Martin (Creative Director, Aperture Foundation), and Jody Quon (director of photography, New York Magazine).

The First PhotoBook Prize
A $10,000 prize will be awarded to the photographer(s)/artist(s) whose first finished, publicly available photobook is judged to be the best of the year. Twenty books from this category will be selected for the shortlist, presented to the Jury for the final selection and exhibited during Paris Photo.

The PhotoBook of the Year Prize
This prize will be awarded to the photographer(s)/artist(s), and publisher responsible, for the photobook judged to be the best of the year. Ten books from this category will be selected for the shortlist, presented to the Jury for the final selection and exhibited during Paris Photo.

The Photography Catalogue of the Year Prize Awarded to the publication, publisher, and/or organizing institution responsible for the exhibition catalogue or museum publication judged to be the best of the year. Five books from this category will be selected for the shortlist, presented to the Jury for the final selection and exhibited during Paris Photo.

The shortlisted books, accompanied by the jury’s comments, will be featured in the fall 2021 edition of The PhotoBook Review issue 020 (published by Aperture Foundation), to be released at Paris Photo and mailed to Aperture magazine subscribers. Additional content and features for the shortlisted books will appear on aperture.org.