The Tom Stoddart Award for Excellence is run by the Ian Parry Memorial Fund, a registered UK charity (number 803797), with the London photography publisher GOST Books. It carries the name of Tom Stoddart, the British photojournalist who died in 2021 and who was a close friend of the fund’s founder, Aidan Sullivan.
The award backs one established photographer whose long-form documentary project is close to finished and extensive enough to fill a book. The recipient shapes the edit of pictures and text with GOST’s director Stu Smith, and GOST publishes the result as a clothbound hardback distributed worldwide.
The 2026 call is the second edition. Photographers of any nationality aged 18 or over may enter, and each submission costs £50.
Benefits & funding
- A photo book published by GOST Books, clothbound in hardback and distributed worldwide by GOST and its partners.
- £5,000 towards expenses and travel, including the trip to oversee printing in Verona, Italy.
- The £5,000 is paid in two equal instalments of £2,500: the first when the award is announced, the second after a six-month review of how the project is progressing.
- The edit of photographs and text is made together with GOST’s director, Stu Smith. The recipient can go to Italy to see the proofs and ask for changes before the print run.
- The finished book is publicised by The Guardian, the fund’s media partner.
- A spotlight through the fund’s website and social media channels.
Eligibility
- Open to photographers aged 18 or over.
- Open to every nationality; the organisers state that they welcome entries from all countries.
- Intended for established photographers working in long-form documentary photography.
- The project must be in depth, nearing completion, and extensive enough to warrant a book.
- The photographs must be the entrant’s own work, and the entrant certifies sole authorship.
- Staged or digitally manipulated photographs are not accepted, and AI-generated imagery is not allowed.
- No degree is required, and no minimum number of years of professional experience is set.
- There is no limit on when the photographs were taken; the series may be from any year.
Can you apply?
Here's who can apply
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Age requirement
≥ 18 yrs
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Application process
- 1Check that the project is a long-form documentary body of work near completion and large enough to make a book.
- 2Write a short biography and a description of the book project.
- 3Select up to 40 images from the project, as JPGs of 1500px on the long edge. A PDF of a possible book design may be added, but it is optional.
- 4Submit through the Picter entry portal linked from the award page and pay the £50 fee, which is charged per entry. The portal shows a cut-off of 10:59pm on 30 September 2026.
- 5An industry panel judges the entries in October 2026. Shortlisted and winning photographers are contacted once judging ends, and no exceptions are made for late submissions.
Program timeline
Call for entries opens
Jul 1, 2026
Call for entries closes, 10:59pm on the entry portal
Sep 30, 2026
Judging by an industry panel
2026-10
2026-11
Recipient announced (the official timeline block still prints “November 2025”, left over from the first edition)