Mack (stylised as MACK) is an independent

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

and

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

publishing house based in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Mack works with established and emerging artists, writers and curators, and cultural institutions, releasing around 40 books per year. The publisher was founded in 2010 in London by Michael Mack.

Details

Mack was founded in 2010 in London by Michael Mack, who previously worked as managing director of

Steidl Steidl is a German-language publisher, an international publisher of photobooks, and a printing company, based in Göttingen, Germany. It was started in 1968 by Gerhard Steidl and is still run by him. Overview The company was started by Ger ...

, founding the SteidlMack imprint. Mack takes part in various art and book fairs, showcasing new titles, participating in talks, and organising artist book signings. These annual events include The

London Book Fair The London Book Fair (LBF) is a large book-publishing trade fair held annually, usually in April, in London, England. LBF is a global marketplace for rights negotiation and the sale and distribution of content across print, audio, TV, film and di ...

in March; AIPAD in NYC in April; LA Art Book Fair in April; PhotoLondon in May;

Rencontres d'Arles The Rencontres d’Arles (formerly called ''Rencontres internationales de la photographie d’Arles'') is an annual summer photography festival founded in 1970 by the Arles photographer Lucien Clergue, the writer Michel Tournier and the historia ...

, in July; the

NY Art Book Fair The NY Art Book Fair is Printed Matter, Inc's annual event, historically held in September or October. The NY Art Book Fair is the world’s largest book fair for artists’ books and related publications, featuring over 370 exhibitors from 30 c ...

in September;

Frankfurt Book Fair The Frankfurt Book Fair (German: Frankfurter Buchmesse, FBM) is the world's largest trade fair for books, based on the number of publishing companies represented. It is considered to be the most important book fair in the world for internationa ...

in October;

Paris Photo Paris Photo is an annual international art fair dedicated to photography. It was founded in 1997, and is held in November at the Grand Palais exhibition hall and museum complex, located at the Champs-Élysées in the 8th arrondissement in Par ...

in November. In 2011, Michael Mack was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Arts by the

University of Plymouth The University of Plymouth is a public research university based predominantly in Plymouth, England, where the main campus is located, but the university has campuses and affiliated colleges across South West England. With students, it is the ...

for his contribution to art publishing.

Awards for Mack titles

Deutsche Börse Photography Prize Deutsch or Deutsche may refer to: *''Deutsch'' or ''(das) Deutsche'': the German language, in Germany and other places *''Deutsche'': Germans, as a weak masculine, feminine or plural demonym *Deutsch (word), originally referring to the Germanic ve ...

2009 – won by Paul Graham's ''a shimmer of possibility.'' * Paris Photo/Aperture Foundation 2011 – Best PhotoBook from the last fifteen years – won by Paul Graham's ''a shimmer of possibility.'' *

2011 Contemporary Book Award – won by

Taryn Simon Taryn Simon (born February 4, 1975) is an American multidisciplinary artist who works in photography, text, sculpture, and performance. Currently residing and maintaining a studio practice in New York City, Simon has had work featured in the Ve ...

's '' A Living Man Declared Dead and Other Chapters''. *

2012 Author Book Award – won by Christian Patterson's ''Redheaded Peckerwood''. *

2013 – won by

Adam Broomberg & Oliver Chanarin Adam Broomberg (born 1970) and Oliver Chanarin (born 1971) are artists living and working in London. Together they have had numerous international exhibitions. Their work is represented in major public and private collections. They were awarded th ...

's ''War Primer 2''. * Leica Oskar Barnack Award 2014 – won by

Martin Kollar Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austr ...

's ''Field Trip''. *ICP Infinity Award 2014 from the

International Center of Photography The International Center of Photography (ICP), at 79 Essex Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City, consists of a museum for photography and visual culture and a school offering an array of educational courses and programming. ...

– won by Adam Broomberg & Oliver Chanarin's ''Holy Bible''. *

2016 Photobook of the Year – won by

Gregory Halpern Gregory Halpern (born 1977) is an American photographer and teacher. He currently teaches at the Rochester Institute of Technology and is a nominee member of Magnum Photos. Halpern has published a number of books of his own work; ''Zzyzx'' won Ph ...

's ''ZZYZX.'' * Paris Photo/Aperture Foundation 2018 Photography Catalogue of the Year – won by

Ursula Schulz-Dornburg Ursula Schulz-Dornburg (born 1938) is a German photographer and artist known for the conceptual series (mostly black and white) photographs. She lives and works in Düsseldorf. Schulz-Dornburg received the 2016 AIMIA AGO Photography Prize from t ...

's ''The Land in Between.'' *

2018 Photo Text Book Award – won by

's ''War Primer 2.'' *Richard Schlagman Art Book Awards 2019 Contemporary Art Award – won by

Thomas Demand Thomas Cyrill Demand (born 1964) is a German sculptor and photographer. He currently lives and works in Berlin and Los Angeles, and teaches at the University of Fine Arts, Hamburg. Demand had his first solo exhibition at Tanit Galerie in Munich ...

's ''The Complete Papers.''

First Book Award

In 2012, Mack established the First Book Award, in collaboration with the

National Media Museum The National Science and Media Museum (formerly The National Museum of Photography, Film & Television, 1983–2006 and then the National Media Museum, 2006–2017), located in Bradford, West Yorkshire, is part of the national Science Museum G ...

, Bradford and the Wilson Centre for Photography, London. This annual photography publishing award is open to photographers who have not previously had a book published by a third party publishing house (this does not include self-published print on demand projects). The call for submissions emphasises a predilection for projects conceived in book form: works that find a voice through the book. The award is not an open submission – but instead each year, a diverse array of international nominators are asked to recommend suitable projects. Submissions open in January, the winner is announced in April, and the winning work is published by Mack and the National Media Museum in June.

Winners

*2012: Anne Sophie Merryman, ''Mrs. Merryman's Collection''. *2013: Paul Salveson, ''Between the Shell''. *2014: Joanna Piotrowska, ''FROWST''. *2015: Ciarán Óg Arnold, ''I went to the worst of bars hoping to get killed. but all I could do was to get drunk again''. *2016: Sofia Borges, ''The Swamp''. *2017: Emmanuelle Andrianjafy, ''Nothing's in Vain''. *2018: Hayahisa Tomiyasu, ''TTP''. *2019: Jerome Ming, ''Oobanken''. *2020: Damian Heinisch, ''45''. *2021: Marvel Harris, ''Marvel''.

References

External links

*
First Book AwardMichael Mack describes his photobook publishing
(video)
Interview with Michael Mack by ''Paper Journal''
{{Authority control Companies based in the London Borough of Lewisham 2010 establishments in England Publishing companies established in 2010 Visual arts publishing companies Book publishing companies based in London Photography companies of the United Kingdom