By Andrew Richard Albanese, Editor-in-Chief
The International Publishers Association this week opened nominations for its Freedom of Expression Defenders Award. The award, which was announced in October 2025, will honor companies or organizations from the book sector who have demonstrated a commitment to what IPA officials call the “trinity” of freedoms: the freedom of expression, the freedom to publish and the freedom to read.Nominations will be accepted until March 31 and must be made by publishers or publishers associations.
According to IPA reps, anyone connected to the book sector can be nominated (including, for example, publishing houses, publishers’ associations, trade fairs or forums, NGOs and advocacy organizations). Individuals may be nominated as well, but only for work they have done “promoting or defending the freedom to publish, the freedom to read and the freedom of expression, but not for books they have authored or published.”
The inaugural laureate will be announced at 2026 Frankfurter Buchmesse.
“This new award complements the IPA Prix Voltaire and Prix Voltaire Special Award by enabling us to recognize those active in the broader book sector working to protect the freedoms that secure diverse books for readers,” IPA president Gvantsa Jobava said, in a statement.
“It requires constant effort for authors, publishers, booksellers, librarians and readers to be free to write, publish, sell, lend and read the books they want,” added Jessica Sänger, Chair of the IPA’s Freedom to Publish Committee. “We are keen to hear about efforts in different countries and regions and celebrate the best of them.”
For more information, the IPA has made available a brochure presenting the award on their website.
In an October 2025 article, Jobava spoke with then Publishing Perspectives Editor-in Chief, Porter Anderson, about the award’s genesis, and its importance.
“As the new IPA president I approached the Freedom to Publish committee with the initiative to establish this new Defenders Award,” Jobava told Anderson. “Over the years…applications submitted for IPA’s Prix Voltaire have highlighted the dedication of book sector representatives in defending this trinity of freedoms, but because of the specific nature and defined rules of the existing award, we weren’t able to accept or consider some of these applications. With this new initiative, I hope we’ll be able to significantly expand our efforts in this direction, highlighting organizations that make invaluable contributions to defending the trinity of freedoms on both local and global levels, and drawing attention to how crucial this work is for the book sector.”