Kraszna-Krausz longlist emphasizes archives

The Kraszna-Krausz Book Awards are one of those niche cultural prizes that quietly tell you where a field is heading. This year’s 2026 longlist makes that pretty clear. The big theme is the archive — not as dusty storage, but as raw material for arguments about power, memory, ownership, and who gets to tell a story. The longlists were announced on May 10, and the Foundation is already framing them as a snapshot of what serious photography and moving-image publishing cares about right now. ### What actually got announced? The Foundation released the longlists for its two annual categories — Photography and Moving Image. These awards have run since 1985 and are positioned as the UK’s leading prizes for books about photography and the moving image, with two winners eventually splitting a £10,000 prize fund. The 2026 shortlist is due in early June, and the winners are expected later in June. ### Why is “archives” the headline theme? (britishphotohistory.ning.com) Because the Foundation itself says the archive — both historic and personal — dominates this year’s selections. But this is not just about preservation. It is about using old images, documents, and fragments of record to test authorship and authenticity. In plain English — who made the image, who controls its meaning now, and whether a book can repair or complicate the story the archive once told. (kraszna-krausz.org.uk) ### What does that look like in practice? On the photography side, the judges point to books using portraiture, documentary, and historical documents as “artistic, reparative interventions.” That phrase matters. It suggests the archive is being treated less like evidence in a box and more like a site of correction — especially around colonial histories, race, representation, identity, and sexuality. One highlighted title, *The Fold* by Hoda Afshar, revisits the archive of Gaëtan Gatian de Clérambault through cropping, fragmentation, and repetition — basically re-editing inherited images to expose the politics inside them. (britishphotohistory.ning.com) ### Who picked the books? The 2026 photography judges are Jermaine Francis, Fiona Rogers, and Diane Smyth. The moving-image judges are Ellen E. Jones, Agata Lulkowska, and David Martin-Jones. Fiona Rogers’ comment is useful because it explains the curatorial mood — she emphasizes the range of approaches but singles out the use of historical documents and archives as a standout thread. ### Why does the longlist matter before the winners? (kraszna-krausz.org.uk) Because these awards are as much about circulation as they are about trophies. The longlisted books will be showcased at Photo London from May 13 to 17 and at POST in Brighton from July 3 to 5. For art-book readers, publishers, librarians, and collectors, that turns the longlist into a buying list, a teaching list, and a signal about what kinds of projects are getting institutional attention. (kraszna-krausz.org.uk) ### Is this a shift or more of the same? A bit of both. The awards have long favored books that make lasting historical and cultural contributions, so archival work fits the house style. But this year’s framing feels sharper. The language around authenticity, reparative use, and transformation of the past suggests a field that is less interested in neutral recovery and more interested in contested memory — archives as arguments, not containers. That last point is an inference, but it fits the Foundation’s own description of the list. (kraszna-krausz.org.uk) ### Where does this go next? The shortlist lands in early June. Then the winners arrive later that month. After that, the Foundation says autumn events will be held at the V&A South Kensington for photography and the Barbican for moving image. So this announcement is really the opening move in a longer awards season. ### Bottom line? This longlist is a good read on the moment. The prestige books in photography and moving image are not turning away from the past. (kraszna-krausz.org.uk) They are digging into it harder — and treating the archive as the place where today’s fights over truth, identity, and authorship get worked out. (britishphotohistory.ning.com)