Private Mentoring: How We Work Together
Private Mentoring: How We Work Together
Private Mentoring: How We Work Together
Group Learning
After decades of presenting lectures at industry events and teaching immersive in-person workshops, Mary Virginia has adapted her educational offerings to occur primarily in the online environment.
She is deep in research, updating her content to reflect the changes in our industry.
Publish Your Photography Book
Understanding the Path to Bringing Your Photographic Project to Publication
with Mary Virginia Swanson, Darius D. Himes and Special Guests
Live Online
Saturdays, April 29 - July 1, 2023
Produced by La Luz Workshops
“Publish Your Photography Book” provides a guide to the critical decision points in producing a book of your photographs, clarifying the similarities and differences between being published and choosing to self-publish your book and the critical factors artists should consider in making decisions about the materiality, marketing, and placement of a book.
Mary Virginia Swanson, with long-time co-author Darius D. Himes will inform and inspire participants by sharing their knowledge and experiences in bringing long-term projects to the book form. Our distinguished faculty members will be joined in our virtual classroom by thirteen Special Guests who are eminent members of the photobook community including editors, designers, book producers and publishers, curators and published / self-published artists and will provide crucial insight into each stage of the publishing journey.
This online course is comprised of four related components, each with separate registration:
Four Core Lectures
Presented by Mary Virginia Swanson
Saturday mornings, 11:00 am – 3:00 pm EST
(Darius D. Himes will Join April 29 & June 17)
Topics covered include: the role of a photobook in your career, to be published from both creative and business perspectives, preparing submissions, understanding the terms of a publishing contract, understanding the pros and cons of self-publishing, gaining knowledge about the materiality of photobooks, considering limited editions, determining production partners, building a strategic marketing plan, implementing launch plans and exhibitions, to extending the life of your photobook.
$350
Five Applied Study Seminars
MVS & DDH with Thirteen Special Guests
Live Zoom discussions every other
Saturday 11:00 am – 3:00 pm EST
Participants have the option to enroll in five corresponding Applied Study Seminars to extend their learning from Mary Virginia Swanson & Darius D. Himes and their Special Guests as they guide you to apply knowledge learned in the Core Lecture Series to the development of your photobook. Each week's speakers are experts on the topics discussed in the previous week's Core Lecture.
$595
Publishing Stories
All participants will have access to Publishing Stories where Darius D. Himes sits down for a series of one-on-one conversations with contemporary photographers and editors about their experiences gained through publishing their projects, and their best advice to those about to start the journey of bringing their work to the book form.
These pre-recorded conversations will be released via the Course Homepage throughout the duration of the Educational Series and available through October 1, 2023.
Small Group Project Reviews (limited to 12 participants per Group)
Participants of both Core Lectures & Applied Study Seminars may apply for Small Group Photobook Reviews with Ms. Swanson, Darius D. Himes or a selected guest industry colleague.
These sessions represent intensive opportunities to receive insight and advice on such topics as content development, editing/sequencing, production materials to consider, funding strategies, marketing, exhibitions, and related topics of relevance to your book project.
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Registration opens Thursday, June 1, 2023
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Zoom sessions will begin in Fall 2023
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All participants are encouraged to observe sessions when not presenting themselves
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Participants will receive a video recording of their individual session (20 minutes)
$350
*All sessions will be recorded and available to participants according to their registration level through Sunday, October 1, 2023.
For Details & Registration Visit: www.laluzworkshops.com
Calendar for Core Lectures & Applied Study Seminars
APR
29
CORE
LECTURE
MAY
06
APPLIED
STUDY
SEMINAR
MAY
13
CORE
LECTURE
MAY
20
APPLIED
STUDY
SEMINAR
JUN
03
CORE
LECTURE
JUN
10
APPLIED
STUDY
SEMINAR
JUN
17
CORE
LECTURE
JUN
24
APPLIED
STUDY
SEMINAR
JUL
01
APPLIED
STUDY
SEMINAR
TO BE PUBLISHED
Introductory lecture by Darius D. Himes, Core Lecture presented by Mary Virginia Swanson
MVS, DDH and Special Guests: Tiffany Jones, Founder and Publisher, Overlapse; David Chickey,
Co-Founder, Creative Director and Designer, Radius Books; Alan Rapp, Editorial Director, Monacelli Press
TO SELF-PUBLISH
Core Lecture presented by Mary Virginia Swanson
MVS, DDH and Special Guests: Philip Zimmermann, Book Artist and Publisher, Spaceheater Editions; Colleen Mullins, Book Artist, Photographer and Co-Founder of the San Francisco-based Rolls and Tubes Collective with Bob Aufuldish, Book Designer, Aufuldish & Warinner
MAKING YOUR BOOK
Core Lecture presented by Mary Virginia Swanson
MVS, DDH and Special Guests: Joshua Chuang, Independent Curator, Editor and Bookmaker;
Jason Burstein and Christina Labey, Co-Founders and Directors, Conveyor Studio
MARKETING AND SELLING YOUR BOOK
Core Lecture presented by Mary Virginia Swanson with Darius D. Himes
MVS, DDH and Special Guests: Sonja Thomsen, Visual Artist and Bookmaker; Jon Evans, Chief of Libraries and Archivist for the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston with Alejandro Cartagena, Photographer, Editor, Bookmaker and Self-Publisher
FINAL STUDY SEMINAR
with Mary Virginia Swanson & Darius D. Himes
MVS, DDH and Special Guest: Denise Wolff, Senior Editor, Book Program, Aperture,
followed by concluding Q & A session
Previous online courses taught by MVS with La Luz Workshops:
Finding Your Audience: An Introduction to Marketing Your Photographs
January 8 - April 2, 2022 | Details Here
The Photobook: An Overview of Traditional Publishing, Limited Editions & The Artist's Book.
A Two-Day Symposium Co-Hosted with Susan kae Grant.
November 19 & Saturday, December 3, 2022 | Details Here
Susan kae Grant & Mary Virginia Swanson | © Allison V. Smith
Upcoming In-Person Workshop
The Photographic Book Today: An Overview of Traditional and New Publishing Options
Santa Fe, NM | July 31 - August 4
Join me in Santa Fe this summer to gain a broad understanding of the process of bringing your long-term photography project to print publication.
Through comprehensive lectures to a series of site visits to book designers, publishers, and photobook vendors, participants will be exposed to the necessary steps to publishing a book of their photographs. From assessing whether your project is ready for publication, to researching publishing brands and understanding contract terms, to exploring the options available to you through self-publishing, you leave this workshop with a path to publication that is right for you and your work.
Our days together will be a combination of richly illustrated lectures, site visits, and guests visiting our campus classroom. I'll brings a teaching library from my vast collection of photobooks to introduce participants to successfully executed publication projects and how these projects came to print and found their way into the hands of buyers.
Each participant is invited to bring a selection of work from a project they wish to publish to share with the class in conversation with me, as I'll provide feedback and help brainstorm possible collaborators, identify potential publishers, and confirm the audience(s) you should target (30 minutes per person; comprising 25% of our course time).
WHO SHOULD ATTEND:
Photographers who are considering bringing their completed project to publication will benefit from this broad overview of publishing options.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW:
This workshop is designed to provide awareness and knowledge to participants of the many options for publishing photobooks today, whether choosing in the end to work with a publisher or choose to self-publish your work.
SPECIAL NOTES:
Sharing conversations and resource libraries with Susan kae Grant’s simultaneous class, The Handmade Artist’s Book: Envisioning Form & Content, offers participants the added sense of community and additional insights into the many formats of photobooks from handmade to limited editions to traditional publishing.