17th ICMA Book Award 2026 is now open for entries!
The 17th ICMA Book Award 2026 invites outstanding book design projects from around the world, celebrating excellence in typography, illustration, layout, cover design and print production.
Short description
The 17th ICMA Book Award 2026 is an international competition dedicated to recognising outstanding creativity, quality and innovation in book design and publishing from around the world.
The award celebrates books in which content and visual design work together as a coherent whole, with particular attention given to cover design, typography, layout, illustration, materials, binding and overall production quality.
The competition welcomes a broad variety of publications, including scientific and educational books, children's and young people's books, graphic novels, non-fiction books, cookbooks, art and design books, photo books, book series, corporate books, general literature and calendars.
Dedicated categories also recognise individual aspects of book design, including book covers, typography and layout, illustration, overall book design and print finishing. A separate category is available for books addressing sustainability, while the Concept/Innovation category highlights original approaches to contemporary publishing.
Eligible works must have been created between 1 January 2025 and 31 October 2026.
For book series, three different books from the series may be submitted, with eligible works published between 1 January 2019 and 31 October 2026.
Entries may include books across a wide range of publishing fields, from children's books and graphic novels to art, photography, educational, corporate and non-fiction publications.
Individual design elements may also be entered in specialist categories covering book covers, typography and layout, illustration, book design and print finishing.
Entries are evaluated with particular attention to the relationship between content, form and visual communication. Depending on the category, the jury considers elements such as typography, format, cover, layout, illustration, paper, binding and the suitability of the overall design to the publication's content and intended audience.
Award-winning projects may receive Gold, Silver or Bronze Awards or an Award of Excellence. Winners receive an official digital certificate and selected awarded works are subsequently presented on the ICMA website.
Submission requirements
➜ For the main book categories, entrants must send a printed copy of the book together with the completed participation form to the ICMA Award in Germany.
➜ Entrants must also upload PDFs of the title page and representative double-page spreads through the official Upload Centre.
➜ The cover of each submitted book must be uploaded. ICMA recommends uploading the complete publication as double-page spreads where possible; otherwise representative spreads may be provided.
➜ Each submitted book requires its own completed registration form.
➜ Entries in the specialist subcategories — including book covers, typography/layout, illustration, book design and print finishing — can be submitted digitally as PDF files through the Upload Centre.
➜ Files should be grouped into a ZIP archive. The Upload Centre accepts up to 700 MB per upload; larger submissions can be divided into additional ZIP files.
➜ Submitted files cannot be edited directly, but they may be deleted and uploaded again if changes are necessary.
Eligibility
The competition is open internationally to book design and publishing projects from around the world.
Benefits
➜ Outstanding entries may receive Gold, Silver or Bronze Awards, while exceptional achievements can be recognised with an Award of Excellence.
➜ Winners receive an official ICMA certificate in PDF format, included in the participation fee.
➜ Awarded projects are subsequently published on the ICMA website, providing international exposure within the design and publishing community.
➜ Winners may use their certificate and award recognition for web, social media and promotional communication.
➜ Individually produced ICMA award trophies are available to winners for an additional fee.
Entry fees
The entry fee is €100 per book. Entries submitted after the regular deadline are subject to a 20% late fee.
