Emerging black-and-white photographers are invited to submit their work to Gomma Magazine, for the chance to be published in a hardback photobook called Mono next year.

Selecting “the most talented black-and-white photographers from around the world, emerging artists will be showcased among the masters of monochrome photography", which will include work by Roger Ballen, Anders Peterson, Keizo Kitajima, Oliver Pin Fat, Giacomo Brunelli and Kim Thue.

Mono is part of a new publishing wing set up by Gomma, specialising in high-quality black-and-white photobooks. The not-for-profit organisation plans to publish four books in 2012, and to devote 25% of its titles to new talent, who “need exposure and recognition so that the whole industry benefits from their rawness,” says photographer and editor Luca Desienna. “Books are, and will continue to be, one of the best forms for presenting photo stories but there still seems to be a huge gap for unpublished and emerging talents,” he adds. “For them, getting a book deal is really hard.”

Gomma was set up in 2004 by four artists to create a new publishing space for photographers. The magazine is temporarily on hold, but the website is still live at www.gommamag.com. Gomma has opted to focus on black-and-white photography books because it is “romantic, timeless and awe-inspiring. It is also part of our history and a document of our history. We need to be constantly reminded of its power and uniqueness”, says Desienna, whose own monochrome work was featured in BJP #7791.

For information on Mono, click here.