The Dummy Award is an international competition for the best unpublished photobook dummy of the year.

Since 2010, hundreds of books shortlisted for the award, formerly known as the Kassel Dummy Award, have been exhibited at various international photography events, festivals and exhibition spaces. The participating photographers have been able to establish contacts with galleries, publishers and festivals and present their books to an international audience.

As of 2023 the Kassel Dummy Award will be continued by the PhotoBookMuseum in Cologne, together with MAS Matbaa in Istanbul, in order to increase the importance of the Dummy Award for a new generation of photographers and put it on an even broader footing.

Practical Info

International artists, photographers, graphic designers who incorporate the photographic medium in their artistic practice and have an unpublished photobook project are welcome to apply. There are no restrictions as to topics.

Applications must be made online and the dummy sent by post. The online registration should be done before 31 January while the dummy should arrive in Cologne by 15 February 2024.

From all entries, around 50 books will be selected for a shortlist to be exhibited at 18 international photography events in 15 countries. From the shortlist, 5 winning books will be selected, and one of them will receive the PBM/MAS Prize to be produced and published by the leading Turkish printing and binding house MAS Matbaa in cooperation with the PhotoBookMuseum. The costs will be fully covered. The other 4 winning books will receive a production grant for printing their books at MAS Matbaa.