PUBLISH YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY BOOK
Understanding the Path to Bringing Your Photographic Project to
Publication
Mary Virginia Swanson with Darius D. Himes joined by Special Guests
Tiffany Jones, David Chickey, Alan Rapp, Philip Zimmermann, Colleen
Mullins, Bob Aufuldish, Joshua Chuang, Jason Burstein & Christina Labey,
Sonja Thomsen, Jon Evans, Alejandro Cartagena, Chris Boot & Denise Wolff.
THE COMPLETE COURSE RECORDINGS
“Publish Your Photography Book” provides a guide to the critical decision points in producing a book of your photographs, clarifying the similarities and differences between being published and choosing to self-publish your book and the critical factors artists should consider in making decisions about the materiality, marketing, and placement of a book.
Mary Virginia Swanson, with long-time co-author Darius D. Himes, bring together their knowledge and experiences in bringing long-term projects to the book form in over 40 hours of original course content including interviews with 14 Special Guests & 9 Featured Artists, Q&A sessions, as well as 119 pages of downloadable resources and links compiled by Mary Virginia Swanson providing a broad awareness of the process of bringing your project to the book form.
Publish Your Photography Book was originally produced as a 9-week Educational Series, live on Zoom, in the Spring of 2023 as a companion to Swanson & co-author Darius D. Himes’ 3rd Edition of Publish Your Photography Book (Radius, 2023). Publish Your Photography Book: The Complete Course Recordings offers the opportunity to experience recordings from this series’ range of learning opportunities and gain broad, practical knowledge and understanding on publishing photobooks.
Co-authors of Publish Your Photography Book Darius D. Himes & Mary Virginia Swanson at Radius Books, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
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Three separate editions of A Parallel Road by Amani Willett, published by OVERLAPSE: first, second, and the Artist Edition (box)
Page spread, The Heavens (2018) by Barbara Bosworth, published by Radius Books Includes three facsimile editions of related artist's books.
Self-published titles by Philip Zimmermann printed in offshore offset, digital print-on-demand, custom HP Indigo, Inkjet, color lazertone, and newsprint.
Self-published first book the Rolls and Tubes Collective: A History Of Photography. Standard Edition (100 copies). Designed by Bob Aufuldish.
Santu Mofokeng: Stories by project editor/curator Joshua Chuang, Published by Steidl (2019). 21 separately bound stories in an archival box, limited edition of 1000.
Books produced and/or designed and published by Jason Burstein & Christina Labey at Conveyor Studio
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You Will Find It Where It Is: a reader by visual artist Sonja Thomsen; produced and designed by Conveyor Studio, hand-bound by the author. 1st Edition published by Poor Farm Press, ed. of 300
A selection from a series of hand-made maquettes by photographer / self-publisher Alejandro Cartagena acquired by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Photograph courtesy MFAH.
Carpoolers #4 by Alejandro Cartagena, published by Los Sumergidos (2021)
Girl Pictures by Justine Kurland, edited by Denise Wolff, published by Aperture (2020)
Gain access to over 40 hours of lectures, presentations, and interviews with over 25 experts: publishers, editors, designers, book producers, published and self-published artists, artists’ book makers, special collections librarians, as well as downloadable resources and links related to course content.
Registrants will have the opportunity to learn from each of the three course components including deeply researched Core Lectures, Applied Study Seminars with Special Guests and Publishing Stories; interviews with Featured Guests.
CORE LECTURES
with Mary Virginia Swanson & Darius D. Himes
4 online sessions (4 hours each)
Deeply researched and up-to-date lectures by Mary Virginia Swanson on a variety of topics relevant to publishing a photobook today including: the role of a photobook in your career, to be published from both creative and business perspectives, preparing submissions, understanding the terms of a publishing contract, understanding the pros and cons of self-publishing, gaining knowledge about the materiality of photobooks, considering limited editions, determining production partners, building a strategic marketing plan, implementing launch plans and exhibitions, to extending the life of your photobook.
Recordings of Q&A sessions with Mary Virginia Swanson & Darius D. Himes from each Core Lecture are provided along with downloadable Resource Documents.
APPLIED STUDY SEMINARS
with Mary Virginia Swanson & Darius D. Himes joined by Special Guests
5 online sessions (4 hours each)
Following each Core Lecture, Mary Virginia Swanson & Darius D. Himes are joined by Special Guests to further expand upon previous lecture topics. Publishers, editors, designers, book producers, published and self-published artists, artists' book makers, and special collections librarians share their knowledge and guide participants in adapting lessons learned to their own practice.
Recordings of Q&A sessions with Mary Virginia Swanson & Darius D. Himes from each Applied Study Seminar are provided along with downloadable Resource Documents.
PUBLISHING STORIES
with Darius D. Himes & Featured Guests
9 artist conversations ( ~ 20 min each)
Included along with the Core Lectures and the Applied Study Seminars are a series of nine Publishing Stories; one-on-one conversations between Darius D. Himes and contemporary photographers who share their experiences gained through publishing their projects, and best advice to those about to start the journey of bringing a body of work to the book form.
Featured Guests: Tabitha Soren, Todd Hido, Raymond Meeks, Daniel Milnor, Sonja Thomsen, Awoiska van der Molen, Mona Kuhn, Lisa McCarty and Wendel White.
Access Opens: October 16, 2023
The Complete Course Recordings of Publish Your Photography Book are available to registrants for a limited time, with private, unlimited access to the dedicated Course Homepage and all educational content through March 17, 2024.
Left & right: stacks of recent published & unpublished books; center: an unprinted book to visualize true scale/volume of a planned book
COURSE CONTENT *
TOPIC 1: TO BE PUBLISHED
Core Lecture 1
Mary Virginia Swanson & Darius D. Himes
Darius D. Himes sets the stage for this educational journey, providing a window into today's photobook community. He sheds light on contemporary publishing trends, the increasing opportunities for self-publishing, the innovative ways photographs are showcased in the book form today, and the growing number of private, public, academic and curatorial collectors of contemporary and classic photobooks that are flocking to the international photobook scene.
Mary Virginia Swanson presents a lecture on Being Published from both the creative and the business perspective. Topics include considerations for content, defining audience, researching potential publishers, preparing submissions, understanding contract terms and moving forward with your publisher's team, and awareness of what tasks you may be responsible for funding and completing.
Applied Study Seminar 1
Mary Virginia Swanson & Darius D. Himes joined by Special Guests
A broad discussion with three separate photobook publishers introduces the steps that must be undertaken to bring your project to publication with their particular press. They each share their perspectives on pitching your project, the project development process and being an effective partner to your publisher.
Special Guests include representatives of small, one-person press, a mid-sized, not-for-profit photography and art book publisher, and a global art and culture press.
Special Guests:
Co-Founder, Creative Director and Designer, Radius Books (est. 2007).
Editorial Director, Monacelli Press (est. 1994), since 2020 an imprint of Phaidon (est. 1893).
TOPIC 2: TO SELF-PUBLISH
Core Lecture 2
Mary Virginia Swanson
The possibilities and realities of self-publishing: what you should know about everything from building your team of collaborators to help with editing/sequence of text and images, design, and choosing the most suitable paper-printing-binding for your content. Production details and planning for marketing efforts and anticipating expenses, including seeking grants and sponsorship.
Applied Study Seminar 2
Mary Virginia Swanson and Darius D. Himes joined by Special Guests.
Discussions include clarification of your work and its audience, advice on how to best navigate options towards presenting your project in the book form, addressing materiality of books, identifying and confirming collaborators and creating your production schedule.
Special Guests:
PHILIP ZIMMERMANN (See bio here)
Book artist/Publisher, Spaceheater Editions.
Philip Zimmermann introduces us to a range of printing processes available today by sharing production decisions he made when producing his own self-published books. He discusses the following seven printing processes sharing his titles with us: Offset (printed in 3 different countries), Inkjet, Digital Print-on-Demand, HP Indigo (custom), Color Lasertoner, and Newsprint (High-Speed Inkjet). Titles range from hand printed and hand-bound books in edition of 30 to books designed for output via POD (MagCloud, open editions) to 4-color offset board book with a run of 1000 copies.
COLLEEN MULLINS (See bio here)
Book artist, photographer and co-founder of the San Francisco-based Rolls and Tubes Collective
Colleen Mullins shares her experiences surrounding publication of the Collective’s first book, A History of Photography (2021). Mullins addresses critical questions to ask yourself, prospective designers and printers before you begin the publication process as well as creating a precise budget for your project, working with production collaborators, and recaps wise lessons learned that the Collective members will each take forward into future publication projects.
Partner, Aufuldish & Warinner
Colleen Mullins is joined by the graphic designer Bob Aufuldish who was selected by the Collective to design the standard edition of A History of Photography. Separately and together they discuss the role of a designer on a self-published project, how to determine if a designer is a good match for you and your project and how to work together towards a successful book.
TOPIC 3: MAKING YOUR BOOK
Core Lecture 3
Mary Virginia Swanson
With your publishing team or self-publishing collaborators and contributors in place, the process of editing content and designing your book begins. Selecting and testing materials is critical, as well as gaining insights and expertise on key production decisions. Assessing whether you have established a strong enough market for your work to warrant producing limited editions or other special versions of your title for collectors and collections should be addressed. During this same time, a focus on the launch of your title is also wise. Be mindful of press deadlines and other marketing opportunities.
Applied Study Seminar 3
Mary Virginia Swanson and Darius D. Himes joined by Special Guests.
Discussions focus on securing guidance with project development as production steps will soon occur in rapid succession. Presentations will provide participants a window into “the big picture” at this complex time, when all creative decisions must be set, and the launch of your book looms large.
Special Guests:
Independent Curator, Editor and Bookmaker
Joshua Chuang shares his sage experience guiding artists through production decisions when developing traditional monographic and archive driven projects for Steidl, Aperture and other publishers, some of which have accompanying exhibitions. Among the artists with whom he has recently developed projects are Robert Adams, Judith Joy Ross, Santu Mofokeng, and Taryn Simon, and others.
JASON BURSTEIN (See bio here) and CHRISTINA LABEY (See bio here)
Co-Founders & Directors, Conveyor Studio (est. 2010)
Conveyor Studio brings together the talents of designer Christina Labey and printer Jason Burstein to work closely with photographers to extend creative possibilities when bringing their projects to the printed page. They shed light on the process of collaborating with a production house on your self-publishing project, from editorial and creative decisions through production experience.
TOPIC 4: MARKETING AND SELLING YOUR BOOK
Core Lecture 4
Mary Virginia Swanson
As you prepare for the launch of your book, Mary Virginia Swanson presents a lecture on the elements of a strategic marketing plan that will help you consider all the tangible benefits for this book project. Focusing on the subject of your work will guide your research on additional audiences and avenues for your book, including lecture and exhibition venues, and securing collections for your limited editions and other collectible elements.
Darius D. Himes joins during the concluding Q&A.
Applied Study Seminar 4
Mary Virginia Swanson and Darius D. Himes joined by Special Guests.
Discussions address promoting your book, from researching potential public and online engagements and mastering an in-house newsletter along with an impactful social media presence. We also discuss methodologies on researching public, academic and curatorial institutions for potentially acquiring your artist-produced maquettes and/or limited editions of your final book works.
Special Guests:
Visual Artist and Bookmaker
Sonja Thomsen’s diverse print, installation, and book arts practice is rich with engagement with her audience. Thomsen brings her work to the public at large through online and public lectures, interviews, features in print and online publications as well as utilizing her quarterly newsletter to speak directly to those who subscribe. Thomsen shares practical advice gained as she promoted her recent book work You Will Find It Where It is: A Reader as well as her successful path to placing her book in academic special collections and curatorial libraries, including the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Yale University, the Walker Art Center Library and the Joan Flasch Artist’s Book Collection, Flaxman Library at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago among many others.
Chief of Libraries and Archivist for the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Jon Evans introduces participants to the practice of library acquisitions of limited edition and unique photographic artists’ books, including artist-made maquettes (‘book dummies’). He shares the purpose of museum in-house libraries and archives for the benefit of the curatorial departments, considerations when forming strategic acquisition policies to enhance overall collection holdings, as well as the importance of providing access to researchers and the general public.
ALEJANDRO CARTAGENA (See bio here)
Photographer, editor, bookmaker and publisher
Evans is joined by photographer / bookmaker Alejandro Cartagena who produces maquettes as part of his creative practice. Cartagena shares his experience placing his individual books and collections of signed, First Editions in private, public and curatorial collections, and together they discuss the MFAH’s Hirsch Library’s recent acquisition of his maquette production to date, offering participants rare public dialogue between collector and artist.
FINAL APPLIED STUDY SEMINAR
Mary Virginia Swanson and Darius D. Himes joined by Special Guest Chris Boot.
The final Applied Study Seminar welcomes Chris Boot, former executive director of Aperture Foundation, to discuss the role of photobooks today, his experience within the publishing industry, and how he has tried to open the doors to a wider and diverse audience of photobook makers and enthusiasts alike.
The closing Q&A session continues with Mary Virginia Swanson and Darius D. Himes readdressing important topics discussed throughout this course and closing in conversation on next steps towards publishing your photobook.
Special Guest:
Founder, Chris Boot Ltd., Photobook Imprint.
Chris Boot is a photography curator and book publisher. He was Director of Photo Co-op in London, Director of the London and New York offices of Magnum, Editorial Director at Phaidon and was previously Executive Director of Aperture Foundation. His company Chris Boot Ltd has published a broad range of photography books.
A CONVERSATION WITH DENISE WOLFF
Mary Virginia Swanson and Darius D. Himes joined by Special Guest Denise Wolff.
A special additional conversation on the production of your first book with Denise Wolff, Senior Editor, Book Program, Aperture.
Special Guest:
DENISE WOLFF
Senior Editor, Book Program, Aperture.
Denise Wolff reflects on Aperture’s 70+ year history of publishing extraordinary photobooks, and shares her thoughts on photobook publishing today, sharing her experience in publishing Justine Kurland’s recent title Girl Pictures (Aperture, 2020). She lends her advice on best practices when beginning your path to publication and reflects on challenges common to first-time photobook makers.
* Mary Virginia Swanson and Darius D. Himes made modifications and updates to certain aspects of the class content to better suit the requirements of participants during the live sessions. While the majority of the content remained unchanged, a few elements were revised including the addition of Special Guests.
This online course was developed in conjunction with the 3rd Edition of Publish Your Photography Book (Radius Books, 2023) and reinforces, augments and amplifies the rich material contained in the book. (www.publishyourphotographybook.com)
Please read our Terms, Conditions and Cancellation Policies here. If you have any questions about this Educational Series, please reach out to: selma@laluzworkshops.com
All photographs of books @ Brad Trone. Courtesy of Radius Books