From now on, our annual call for publishing projects will take place in the fall. The new recurring deadline is November 30.
VU considers the book a space for creation, a way of materializing images and ideas, an object for thought. When dedicated to photography, the book can take unlimited forms—from autobiography to fantasy, from travelogue to history book, from the artist’s manifesto to the political pamphlet. In the book, photographs can be read and have a voice in a space that belongs to them.
It is in this context that we at VU are launching our annual call for book proposals, with the goal of supporting publishing projects within the fine arts photo community. Proposals are solicited for the publishing program, the book mockup workshop Assemblages and residencies. This call is open to artists from across Québec who are interested in the book form as a creative form. Proposed projects should have photography as their primary focus, and be previously unpublished.
We are also inviting artists to submit their recently published books for acquisition by the VU book collection.
Your proposal must include:
– a letter of intent or a project description (one page in length)
– visual documentation of your project, format is open: a pdf, a drawing, a collage, a digital mock-up, etc.
– an artist’s statement and CV
– The cost of the book (only required for the collection facet)
Details:
– Please note that we will no longer be receiving mock-ups by postal mail ;
– For reasons of equity, all applications received after November 30 will be automatically rejected ;
– Due to the high volume of submissions, only selected artists will be contacted by the committee before March 1st, 2026.
– Please note that our production spaces are always available to VU members, and no submission process is required. To contact VU’s production spaces, please call 418 640-2558, or production@vuphoto.org ;
– You don’t have to be a VU member to send a submission.
If you have any questions about the call for submissions, please contact us at appels@vuphoto.org.
To send us your proposal:
You can send your files via the online form
VU publishing program
VU assists one artist in the fulfillment of their book project, complete with publication and distribution by Éditions VU.
This assistance includes:
o artistic support and editorial development
o help with production tracking (graphic design and printing)
o one week residency ($750 honorarium, five days of accommodation in Quebec City, $130 for transportation costs, $150 printing credit)
o copyright of $3450
o $1600 honorarium
o support in finding complementary funding
o promotion and distribution
Requirements
o the book must mainly be photographic
o the book must be produced in close collaboration with VU
o the book must be completed over a period of approximately one year
o the book’s main language must be french
o there must be at least 100 printed copies of the book (min. 40 copies for VU and 40 copies for distribution)
o The artist must live in the province of Quebec
Assemblages
Assemblages is a yearly photography book mock-up workshop at VU. Two artists share a physical and temporal space to explore different processes of writing and relationality through image. Their individual research will unfold around the table and on the walls, and the shared space will allow them to talk about their work process. Assemblages is a way to reflect on what helps artists enter into exchange, and how photographs also talk to and seep into each other, allowing their own unique voices to emerge.
o a two-week residency for the creation or development of your book layout
o a space to be shared with one other artist
o professional development (training, master class, etc.)
o $250 printing credit
o $1500 residency honorarium
o accommodation in Quebec City during workshop
o $130 for transportation costs
Editing residency
The editing residency offers artistic, technical, logistic and financial support for artists in order to create their own photo book.
This includes:
o a one-week residency for the creation of a new book layout, including creative and technical support for artist’s project
o a meeting to accompany the artist in approaching the artistic, technical and logistic facets of book making (concept, object, fabrication, design, publishing, distribution…)
o $750 grant
o $150 printing credit
o five days of accommodation in Quebec City
o $130 for transportation costs
Photographic book collection
The purchasing of québécois books published in the last two years upon a presented proposal on the artist’s end, and in compliance with the acquisition policy of the collection.
The proposals can only be sent by pdf.