“Photography books have never commanded greater interest than they do today.” Those were the opening words to the first edition of Publish Your Photography Book (Princeton Architectural Press March 2014) and are as appropriate now as they were in 2011.

Next Wednesday, May 7, New York Public Library’s Career Development lecture series presents the book’s authors, Darius Himes and Mary Virginia Swanson. They will show how Publish Your Photography Book takes aspiring authors through the entire publishing process, from refining their concept to marketing their book.Arezoo Moseni, who initiated this program, will introduce the authors.

This book has been revised and updated with current information on digital printing, electronic publishing, creating an App for your book project, the role of social media in marketing your book and more. The growing market for unique, limited edition books comprised of traditional and/or customized elements is discussed, with useful worksheets and expanded lists of distributors, juried competitions and book art fairs among the resources included in the appendices.

The authors. Photo: Jamey Stillings

In the Introduction to the book the authors write, “Books provide an artist a passport to an international photography community; exhibitions, talks, gallery walks, book signings, and press interviews are all brought into being through the occasion of a published book. Both the supply and the demand are increasing. In this atmosphere, the opportunities for publishing a book of one’s photographs have never been more plentiful.

“With the publishing field shifting and expanding, the need for a guide to address fundamental questions and to point out the various avenues to pursue and pitfalls to avoid remains prevalent. Publish Your Photography Book is written with photographers in mind. Its sole aim is to crack open the door to the publishing world and lead the reader through an exploration of this rich sphere….

“Throughout the book, numerous examples of published photography books illustrate the diversity within the field. The range of approaches to a well-conceived and well-crafted book of photography is virtually unlimited, and photographers of all types have expanded our horizons through their creativity and engagement.

“Ultimately, this book is about our inherent desire to communicate, about manifesting one’s creative vision in book form. Photographs can be disseminated in many ways, but a book has a lasting appeal to a very wide audience. Publish Your Photography Book speaks to all the readers, designers, publishers, and typographers of photography books, and, of course, all the photographers who have ever wished to see a book of their photographs out in the world.”

The authors at ICP

Darius Himes is a Director at Fraenkel Gallery. He was the founding editor of photo-eye Booklist and a cofounder of Radius Books, a nonprofit company publishing books on the visual arts. Himes is a lecturer and writer and contributes regularly to various publications.

Mary Virginia Swanson is an author, educator, and advisor to artists and arts organizations whose career includes exhibiting, collecting, and licensing photography. In 2013, she received the Focus Award for Lifetime Achievement in Photography from the Griffin Museum in Boston.