PhMuseum presents the first edition of Photobook Mania, a biennial dedicated to the photobook, taking place on 18–19 October 2025 at Serra Madre, inside Serre dei Giardini Margherita in Bologna (Italy).
The event, with free admission, aims to become an international reference point for independent photographic publishing, bringing together over twenty publishers from across the globe who will showcase a wide selection of publications reflecting the latest trends and experimentations in the photobook field.
Photobook Mania is part of a renewed calendar of activities alternating with the PhMuseum Days festival, which has also become biennial and is scheduled for autumn 2026, further strengthening PhMuseum’s commitment to promoting every aspect of contemporary photographic culture.
In addition to the strong editorial presence, the Photobook Mania program will feature more than forty talks with artists, curators, and industry professionals, thematic workshops, and two main exhibitions.
The first exhibition, Dummies and Books from FOLIO 2024/25 Photobook Making Masterclass, presents the photobook dummies developed during the fifth edition of the masterclass dedicated to the production of book prototypes. Over eight months, fourteen participants worked under the guidance of Lewis Chaplin, co-founder of Loose Joints, to complete their projects and prepare them for publication. The exhibition offers an in-depth look at the process of transforming photographic images into coherent and engaging narratives within the physical format of the book, exploring the creative potential of editorial storytelling.
The second exhibition is dedicated to the PhMuseum 2025 Photobook Award, launched in collaboration with MPB, Europe’s leading camera retailer. The initiative showcases thirty photobook projects submitted through the first open call for PhMuseum’s new grant dedicated to visual publishing. A jury composed of Max Pinckers, Yumi Goto, Karla Hiraldo-Voleau, Giuseppe Oliverio, and Camilla Marrese will select the winning project, to be announced by PhMuseum and MPB on Saturday 18 October at 6.30 pm. Thanks to MPB’s support, the winning work will be published as a photobook curated and produced by PhMuseum, and will be officially presented during PhMuseum Days 2026, the International Photography Festival scheduled for October 2026.
Earlier on Saturday, at 6 pm, PhMuseum will also present the first issue of its new print magazine, as part of a rich program of book launches and presentations with authors.
PhMuseum further offers the Dummy Deep Dive, an intensive workshop led by American photographer and writer Aaron Schuman, designed for photographers and artists wishing to turn their projects into a book.
The event is made possible thanks to the contribution of the Municipality of Bologna, the sponsorship of MPB, the collaboration with Banca di Bologna, and the cultural partnership with Patto per la lettura del Comune di Bologna (Bologna Municipality Reading Pact) and Card Cultura.
List of attending publishers:
Artphilein Books (Switzerland), Atelier Tatanka (Italy), Cesura Publish (Italy), Départ pour l’Image (Italy/France), FotoEvidence (USA), Giostre Edizioni (Italy), GOST Books (United Kingdom), Havaiana Papers + Tiratura (Brazil/Italy), KABK (Netherlands), L’Artiere (Italy), Leporello (Italy), Libreria Ulisse (Italy), Macaronibook (Belgium), Muddyisland (Italy), PhMuseum (Italy), RUST Publishing (Poland), RVM Hub (Italy), Studiofaganel (Italy), The Velvet Cell (Germany), Witty Books (Italy), Yogurt Magazine (Italy), Zoetrope Athens (Greece).
