A fantastic opportunity for an established photojournalist to have their work printed in a custom photobook by a major UK publisher has returned for 2026.
Now in its second year, The Tom Stoddart Award for Excellence celebrates one lucky established photojournalist by teaming up with publisher Gost to print a custom book on the winning long-form project.
Based in London, Gost publishes visual arts books and has collaborated with the likes of Sir Don McCullin on his more recent works Life, Death and Everything in Between (2023), The Stillness of Life (2025) and the forthcoming Vietnam (2026).
Along with the book of their work, which will go on sale via Gost’s platform and be publicized in The Guardian, the winner will also receive a healthy £5,000 (approximately $6,700 / AU$9,700) to visit the printing facilities in Verona, Italy.
The Tom Stoddart Award for Excellence was founded in 2025 by the Ian Parry Memorial Fund, which also runs the eponymous, longstanding grant for emerging photojournalists.
The new award is named after the late photojournalist Tom Stoddart, whose celebrated career covering pivotal global events (such as the fall of the Berlin Wall and the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa for outlets including The Sunday Times) spanned five decades.
Entrants to the competition need to be at least 18 years old and the project submitted should be near completion and extensive enough for publishing. A short personal biography along with a brief summary of the project should be included, as well as up to 40 images taken from the project.
Entries to the awards can now be made until September 30, 2026. Judging will take place in October with the award recipient announced November 30.
It costs £50 to enter the Tom Stoddart Awards for Excellence, with the important note that AI-generated imagery is not allowed. Visit the award official webpage for more information and to enter.
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The 2025 Tom Stoddart Award for Excellence winner was Laura Pannack, for her photo series documenting children's dangerous school journeys in Cape Town, South Africa. If you want to try your hand at photojournalism, documentary and reportage work, take a look at the best cameras for street photography and the best lenses for street photography.
