2025 Book Awards

“Al-Arashi’s debut artist’s book is a striking exploration of matriarchal heritage, blending photography, prose, and poetry to create a deeply personal archive. Inspired by her great-grandmother Aisha, and unable to return to Yemen, Al-Arashi journeyed through the MENA region, capturing women of the same generation. In doing so, she resists erasure and redefines their stories. Emotionally powerful and culturally essential, this book heralds a bold new voice in contemporary photography.”
Dr Taous Dahmani

“Gender binary discussions have become scapegoated in the culture wars of right wing politics and I thought this was a timely presentation of this discussion. Most people who are so negatively vocal have rarely met someone non binary in the flesh so to speak, so the sitters in the book go some way in making us understand how universal the experience is. There are many such books nowadays but mainly from the US and Europe so I was additionally impressed that the photographer was based in Kenya.”
Dr Sunil Gupta

“This was a fantastic collection of pictures that I had the good fortune of seeing on display at the Vevey Festival last year. The book was part of the Vevey Award and was very beautifully made, capturing the subtlety of the colors. The storyline of two aging sisters in Calcutta was a great humanist one, the kind of thing photography excels at. It was good to see a rare practitioner from South Asia in this year’s entries.”
Dr Sunil Gupta

“Jeano Edwards’ In the Dark, the Tides Shine Bright is a poignant companion to his film, offering a contemplative exploration of the emotional landscapes tied to returning to one’s roots. Through this reflective work, Edwards invites readers to engage with the layered narratives of longing, loss, and return. While the film conveys immediacy, the book’s form allows for a deeper, more nuanced reflection, revealing the story’s subtle dimensions through the stillness of photography.”
Dr Taous Dahmani

“A forest fire between us is a new publication destined to become the go-to text on photographer Tee A Corinne. The reproductions are accompanied by a detailed timelineand new scholarship about Corinne’s radical art practice, which I think will resonate with a new audience today.”
Dr Charmaine Toh

“This was one of the most moving photo essays I’ve seen this year. A simple idea that was anything but simple to execute, Solomon’s self-portraits taken over 5 decades required an absolute rigour and consistency and resulted in a remarkable book that is a masterclass in autobiography.”
Dr Charmaine Toh

“This work really stood out for me. All of us from elsewhere have had some version of the title hurled at us, in my case it happened on a rush hour tube. How does one respond? By going home on foot as is the case here. It’s a poignant journey beautifully seen. I liked that the story and book’s construction seemed to share an empathy. This was not a showy project but bore witness to an extended period of time spent retracing one’s steps, something most of us will not have the privilege of doing, but perfect for still photography.”
Dr Sunil Gupta

“Through a striking blend of photography, prose, and illustration, Mahmoud Khattab explores the isolation, identity, and quiet resilience forged during his year of military conscription. Captured discreetly, his images offer a raw, unfiltered glimpse into the everyday realities of conscript life. ‘The Dog Sat Where We Parted’ transcends conventional military narratives, presenting service through a lens of vulnerability and introspection. Meticulously produced with a linen cover sourced from local markets, the book is both visually arresting and emotionally resonant.
Dr Taous Dahmani

“While we received many entries that incorporated archival material, The Unruly Archive distinguished itself with its clever book design that adroitly interpreted Syjuco’s layered photographic collages and installations as well as her excavations of historical documents and images.”
Dr Charmaine Toh

“Rebecca Topakian’s For Dame Gulizar and Other Love Stories masterfully blurs the lines between personal history and myth. Through a poignant dialogue between Armenia’s past and present, Topakian overlays images on transparent paper, symbolically merging history with contemporary landscapes. This work offers a profound exploration of love intersecting with complex histories.”
Dr Taous Dahmani

“Little Joe stands out as a vital and unapologetic intervention into film history, celebrating a decade of rebellious, queer-focused publishing. With its zine aesthetic the volume retains the raw energy and immediacy of the original periodical while offering a critical, lovingly assembled archive of gay and queer cinema studies. This captivating collection is an important archive of a community-driven project that contributes to the ongoing discourse around sexuality, film, and cultural memory”
Kamila Kuc

“Contemporary Art Cinema Culture in China is an ambitious book that mobilises new methodologies for uncovering how art cinema circulates in China. Through an excitingly diverse ethnographic approach, Xiang Fan takes a deep dive into alternative networks and communities of film appreciation in the digital era.”
Dr Kim Knowles

“Japanese critic Hasumi Shiguéhiko’s painstaking analysis of Ozu’s films has many admirers, among them director Hamaguchi Ryūsuke (Drive My Car, Evil Does Not Exist). But it’s been a long wait (over 40 years) for this English translation of Hasumi’s close readings of the Japanese master’s cinematic technique and it makes you wonder what other landmark books of film criticism could be out there in need of translation?.”
Isabel Stevens

“Under the bold title of Ellen E. Jones’ new publication lies a fascinating discussion of racial representation in the two most powerful forms of mass media communication. It’s a highly accessible, gripping and inspiring book that tackles racism with passion and wit.”
Dr Kim Knowles

“A remarkable and unconventional travelogue about a woman interloper to a small forgotten town in south-East Hungary and her headstrong but foolhardy attempt to renovate and revive the local cinema. This is a very unique and timely ode to the collective magic of all sitting together in the dark watching a film projected on film but also, to quote Kinsky, an ‘adventure in seeing’ itself.”
Isabel Stevens

“This book is a luscious and dazzling visual feast that redefines how we understand the emotional, political, and narrative power of colour in film. Especially noteworthy is its recovery of marginalized histories, from the overlooked women who pioneered early colour techniques to thoughtful investigations of how colour intersects with race on screen – challenging and expanding traditional cinematic narratives.”
Kamila Kuc

“Esha Niyogi De’s new book gives a rare insight into the role played by women in the Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi film industries, drawing on archival research and oral sources. It takes a unique approach to the subject of authorship and makes an exceptional contribution to South Asian cinema studies”
Dr Kim Knowles

“Victoria Sturtevant’s analysis of pregnancy in popular comedy has a wonderful range – studying bumps and babies from the beginnings of the silent era, through the primness of the Production code years to the supposedly progressive present day. All delivered in clear, witty prose – with a very timely argument about how, in the light of the recent abortion ruling in the US, laughing about the realities of reproduction has a vital role to play.”
Isabel Stevens

“Crazy Fish Sing is a richly layered artist book that opens a rare and intimate window into the creative process behind Still Here, the forthcoming film by Suranga Katugampala. Through a dynamic interplay of drawings, photographs, and critical non-Western perspectives, Crazy Fish Sing reimagines how written and cinematic languages emerge across cultures to reflect on the restorative power of alternative modes of seeing and making.”
Kamila Kuc

“In his new book, Rick Warner makes a highly unique contribution to discussions of cinematic suspense, reframing it in the context of slow cinema aesthetics. It is likely to influence scholarly debates in both fields, whilst offering new insights into a range of films from around the world.”
Dr Kim Knowles