Submissions Process

Submissions for the 19th ILAB Breslauer Prize for Bibliography 2026

ILAB is now accepting submissions for the next prize.
Publishers, academics, scholars and authors are invited to send a copy of the publication to the ABA/ILAB Library in London, where all submissions for the Prize are held.
Please do not hesitate to contact our Prize Secretary, Mr Daniel De Simone, or any member of the jury if you have any questions.

Only one copy is required for the submission.
The final date for the submission is May 1, 2026.

Submissions Address

Submissions for the Prize should be sent to:

The International League of Antiquarian Booksellers
ILAB Breslauer Prize for Bibliography
Peter Harrington
100 Fulham Road
SW3 6HS London
United Kingdom

Submission Rules

The Prize jury at the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers adhere to the rules shown below. Please follow these rules if you wish to enter a publication for a future prize.

The jury, consisting of antiquarian booksellers and senior librarians, takes great care to follow this process before nominating the winner of this prestigious prize.

Article 1 - The International League of Antiquarian Booksellers, an international federation of antiquarian booksellers, awards a US$10,000 prize every four years to the author of the best work, published or unpublished, of learned bibliography, of research into the history of the book or of typography, or books of general interest on the subject.
Since 2022, ILAB and the Breslauer Foundation have agreed to award a second and a third prize of the value respectively of US$5000 and US$3000.

For the 2026 Prize three additional awards of US$1000 each will be offered for a submission from an Asian, African, and Central & South American publisher or author in the field of bibliography, or book related history. These special awards are meant to encourage authors from these underrepresented regions to participate in the Prize thus helping ILAB to expand its mission of creating a worldwide network for booksellers, book collectors, librarians, and bibliographers.

Article 2 - The competition is open, without restriction, but only entries submitted in accordance with these conditions will be considered.

Article 3 - Entries must be submitted in a language which is universally used.

Article 4 - A work already published is eligible only if its publication occurred within the four years immediately preceding the closing date for submission, or if it has an imprint bearing a date within those four years.

Article 5 - Entries in the form of a specialized catalogue of one or more books destined for sale are not eligible, nor are periodicals or public library catalogues.

Article 6 - The Judges:

A. The judges will be composed of:
1.) ILAB-affiliated booksellers with profound knowledge in the field of bibliography and book history
2.) The ILAB Breslauer Prize Secretary
3.) A minimum of two persons whose bibliographical knowledge is generally recognized. These last three, chosen from countries speaking different languages, will be helped by specialists, appointed as necessary.

B. The judges reserve the right to withhold the award if they consider that the entries do not reach a sufficiently high standard.

C. In the case of a tie an unpublished work will have the advantage over a published one.

Article 7 - One copy of each work, whether published or unpublished, must be sent to ILAB before May 1, 2026.

Article 8 - Works which are unpublished but are not awarded the prize will be returned to their authors during the two months following the announcement of the award. Works which have been published but not awarded the prize will remain the property of the ILAB, except by special arrangement made between the competitor and the Prize Secretary, before the final date for submitting entries.

Article 9 - ILAB is not committed to publish unpublished prize works. Nevertheless it does not dismiss the possibility of such publications.

Article 10 - The Prize winner will retain all rights of publication.