Self Publish, Be Happy

An economic and cultural revolution has shaken the photobook world in the last five years: self-publishing. Operating as their own publishers, a generation of photographers have had an instrumental role in today's photobook renaissance. Self Publish, Be Happy offers a do-it-yourself manual and a survey of key examples of self-published success stories, as well as a self-publishing manifesto and bookmaking tips from the photobook community. The manual portion of this volume offers insight, advice and rudimentary how-tos for the photographer interested in self-publishing. The survey offers an overview of the contemporary self-publishing landscape; each case study illustrates a particular theme and genre of self-publishing (such as diary, documentary or conceptual object), and is accompanied by a personal testimony from the artist. Author Bruno Ceschel issues a rallying cry for all those involved in the contemporary photobook revolution, urging photographers to take control of a moment in which the photobook, in all its manifestations, has never before been so omnipresent in our cultural landscape, nor so critical to the photographer's practice.