Photography Books Now!

I read about the Photography Book Now salon and
symposium last night, and thought it was too good to be true. I mean, a contest
celebrating self-published photo books? With the promise of MONEY? What What!?
But look, they say it is true:

“Join the modern photography book movement. Photographers
can now produce books with complete creative control. We’re celebrating the
most innovative and finest self-published photography books and the people
behind them. Submit yours for a chance at $25,000 to finish – or start – that
once in a lifetime project.”

They’re also seeking to engage a
community:

“We’re hosting
Meet-ups in three cities around the globe. Hang out with industry peers,
friends, the judges, and symposia participants.  And bring your books – everyone will want to
see your work.”

You know what that means? Booze. I’ll be at that
New York event in October for sure. The sponsors of this thing include PDN,
American Photography, Flickr and Livebooks. Not too shabby. It’s a hip time to
be a photographer, my friend.

Speaking, of book publishing, I had tarts and coffee
yesterday with Stacy Mehrfar, who
has just finished a five-year project called American Palimpsests. She has her edit
down to about 50 images, and is hoping to publish it.  From her statement:

“The term ‘palimpsest’ refers to a parchment or tablet that
has been written upon or inscribed several times, where the previous texts have
been erased and remain, therefore, somewhat visible. Today the term has come to
represent an object, place or area that reflects its history.”

Clever, clever, Mehrfar. Seriously, though- the project
is stunning. Photographers, keep taking those road trips.