The Ballarat International Foto Biennale [BIFB] in conjunction with major sponsor Blurb, is launching a new prize celebrating the book as an innovative and contemporary format for presenting photography in a creative and narrative form.

Judging  of entries in the ‘One for the Books’ competition will take place at BIFB’13, Ballarat’s  fifth Festival of Photography, which will be held between 17 August and15 of September 2013.  There are two categories of entry: Professional and Amateur. The cost to enter is $10 per book and the closing date for entry is Monday 1st July 2013. Winners will be announced on Monday 19th August 2013 at the Post Office Gallery Ballarat. The judging panel will select the two winners from the exhibition.

The initial judging panel will create a short list of ten books from the Professional category, and ten from Amateur category, which will then be sent for print by Blurb. The chosen books will be on display at the Post Office Gallery, Ballarat for the duration of the BIFB. The exhibition will continue with two shows – in Melbourne at Eleven40 gallery, Malvern, and in Sydney. The shortlist panel will consist of Lomography Australia and New Zealand’s Patrick Boland, Portfolio consultant Sally Brownbill, celebrated photojournalist Michael Coyne, M33 Director Helen Frajman, BIFB Festival Director Jeff Moorfoot, Fashion photographer Ric Wallis and renowned landscape photographer Richard White.

The final Judging panel will be advertising photographer and gallery owner Glenn Gibson, Heidi Romano, designer and publisher of Unless You Will and Beta developments in Photography, Perimeter Books publisher Dan Rule and Blurb’s Garry Trinh.  The winners of each category will receive $1000 cash and a $500 Blurb voucher. All finalists will have their books displayed in the gallery in Ballarat as part of the Special Events Program, and will also tour to galleries in Melbourne and Sydney.

 

BIFB’13 is the only internationally significant photographic event in regional Victoria, racking up an impressive set of statistics in just four festivals. For more information, visit http://www.ballaratfoto.org