The IPA supports Penguin Random House Peru, its CEO, Jéronimo Pimentel and the author Cristopher Acosta, following a chilling defamation judgement on Monday 10 January sentencing all three to US$ 100,000 fines, and the CEO and author to suspended two-year prison sentences.
The Geneva-based International Publishers Association (IPA) today launches its call for nominations for the 2022 IPA Prix Voltaire for exemplary courage in upholding the Freedom to Publish and enabling others to exercise their freedom of expression.
On Tuesday 14 December, the Washington Post reported that Vietnamese publisher, author and journalist Pham Doan Trang has been sentenced by the Hanoi People’s Court to 9 years in prison for disseminating anti-state propaganda.
The awarding of the 2021 IPA Prix Voltaire and a Freedom to Publish Seminar were highlights of the IPA’s presence at this year’s Guadalajara Book Fair.
Prix Voltaire ceremony at Guadalajara International Book Fair honours Dar Al Jadeed publishing house from Lebanon. Journalist Jorge Ramos pays tribute to co-founders Rasha Al Ameer and Lokman Slim: ‘Thanks to you, people like me can speak freely today. I do not exaggerate by saying that we are here because of your courage and that of your brother Lokman. You have all my admiration and respect.’
This year’s IPA Prix Voltaire ceremony will take place on 30 November at the 35th Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara and is unique in honouring the freedom to publish, without which many forms of freedom of expression would be impossible. Publishers who provide authors with the tools to disseminate their written ideas assume the same risks as the writers themselves. The prize, which is held annually, celebrates publishers (individuals, collectives or organizations) who have demonstrated courage and integrity in defending the freedom to publish in the face of threats, danger, intimidation, and harassment.
The 2021 IPA Prix Voltaire Ceremony and a special Freedom to Publish seminar will take place during the Guadalajara International Book Fair.
IPA’s Secretary General travelled virtually to Manila and Melbourne at the end of November to promote copyright at the Philippines International Copyright Summit and prompt conversations about Copyright, the Freedom to Publish and Sustainability at the Independent Publishing Conference.