IPA June 2020 Newsletter: Publishing & Coronavirus, Prix Voltaire, South African Copyright, new literary prize survey & more

The past months have been difficult for everyone worldwide. Our generation has never had to confront a crisis like this. We all face some level of ...

IPA NEWSLETTER June 2020 View this email in your browser Dear readers, The past months have been difficult for everyone worldwide. Our generation has never had to confront a crisis like this. We all face some level of uncertainty as we navigate uncharted waters.  All around the world, publishers have acted swiftly and effectively to support their communities, and strongly collaborated with authors and booksellers, to strengthen the whole book value chain. Publishers have again shown themselves to be resilient and innovative in responding to challenges.   There are so many inspiring stories about this. I invite you to look at our COVID-19 Resource Page, as well as our 'IPA in conversation with' interview series, where we present testimonies from publishers from all over the world. I have always been proud to be a publisher, but to hear all these encouraging stories makes me feel even prouder.     Don't forget the fundamental role we play in society. Through the books our authors write and we publish, we bring to readers knowledge, entertainment, solace, the opportunity to travel to distant places or other times, and the possibility to dream.    At IPA, we represent the interests of thousands of publishers globally. We will continue to demonstrate to policymakers the importance of copyright as an enabler of creativity and innovation. We will strongly defend our freedom to publish as the bedrock of a democratic and informed society. And we will work towards a more diverse and inclusive publishing industry.    The situation we are going through is not easy. But remember the meaning of the word 'crisis': it is a turning point at which change must come, for better or worse. Let us make it for the better. Together we can do it.    Yours, Hugo Setzer, President, IPA South African Copyright Bill sent back to Parliament  Defective copyright amendment bill (as well as performers' protection bill) referred back to the National Assembly by President Ramaphosa. Read more. Liberal Publishing House awarded 2020 Prix Voltaire  On June 3, IPA unveiled Liberal Publishing House (Vietnam) as the laureate of the 2020 Prix Voltaire. Read more. IPA to support Nielsen survey into international book prize awareness and attitudes Nielsen Book is undertaking a fascinating, industry-wide survey to investigate the perception and impact of book prizes in various countries, supported by the IPA, Frankfurt Book Fair, Publishing Perspectives and Agile Ideas. All participants will receive a summary of results. Read more about the survey or: Complete the Survey Now IPA selects partners following guidelines overseen by our Executive Committee to ensure our impartiality and continued commitment to our values. More information here. IPA in Conversation with...  Click below to learn how the COVID-19 pandemic impacts the book sector in Africa, ASEAN, Europe, Latin America and the USA. Our COVID-19 page includes actions of publishers and governments worldwide.  IPA backs Simon & Schuster over Trump censorship attempts  The IPA has declared its full backing for Simon & Schuster, the American publisher of Ambassador John Bolton's The Room Where It Happened. Read more.  Coronavirus doesn't stop Copyright Consultations Lockdowns haven't stopped governments in Brazil, China, Kenya, India, to name but a few, publishing consultations on copyright. IPA continues to monitor and respond. Read more. First virtual Educational Publishers Forum meeting  IPA's Educational Publishers Forum (EPF) held its first virtual meeting on 19 June 2020, because members were unable to travel to Istanbul as planned due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more. AAP publishers file copyright infringement lawsuit against internet archive On June 1, 2020, member companies of the Association of American Publishers (AAP) officially filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Internet Archive ("IA") in a New York District Court. Read more. 9th Turkish Publishing Assembly takes place online The biennial assembly organised by the Turkish Publishers Association took place online on 25-26 June 2020, bringing together a total of 58 speakers (46 local and 12 international) to the six-session event. Read more. Reduced VAT on books in Bulgaria On 10 June, the Bulgarian Parliament adopted a proposal to reduce VAT on several goods and services, including books (only print), from the standard 20% rate to a reduced rate of 9%. Read more. IPA in the news Early in the month, the 2020 Prix Voltaire award was covered widely including by the Bookseller, Publishers Weekly, Publishing Perspectives, PublishNews (Spanish), Nasher (Arabic), Börsenblatt (German),  Actualitté and Livres Hebdo (both French) and Giornale della Libreria (Italian). The spokesperson for Liberal Publishing House was interviewed here and the link to human rights and the violation of freedom of expression was highlighted in this article.   In other Freedom to Publish news, IPA's backing of Simon & Schuster was picked up here, here (in Dutch), and here (in French).   All About Book Publishing in India featured Hugo Setzer's call for the publishing sector to work together to overcome the current crisis.    IPA's continued call for support to the publishing industry during the pandemic was featured here. The wider effort to launch initiatives to support reading and learning during the crisis, including the "Read the World initiative", was mentioned here and here. The launch by our vice president Bodour al Qasimi of the Emirates Publishers Emergency Fund received local coverage, for example here, here and here.   IPA's interview series focused on COVID-19's impact on publishing, "IPA in conversation with", has received coverage by Publishing Perspectives and a dedicated write-up of the session From author to bookshop: Coronavirus and the publishing chain, moderated by Publishing Perspective's Porter Anderson.   The African Innovation Fund, which calls on African entrepreneurs to respond to regional remote learning challenges amidst the pandemic, was featured here and here. APIF's challenge was also picked up here, on Xinhua, and here. You can hear Brian Wafawarowa talk about the initiative on Channel Africa here.   Book Bunk in Kenya were a recipient of support in 2019 and we were delighted to learn of the completion of part of the library restoration there.   Also great news to see Borders Literature start their own SDG Book Club focusing on African books that promote the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. Find out about the UN initiative here.   IPA Vice President, Bodour Al Qasimi also led a discussion on women in publishing and her PublisHers initiative on Publishers Without Borders here. Former IPA President, Richard Charkin, continues his series of posts in Publishing Perspectives here. More to come: IPA in conversation with... continues: Like Follow Forward Subscribe About the IPA Established in 1896, the International Publishers Association (IPA) is the world's largest federation of publishers associations. The IPA is an industry body with a human rights mandate, whose mission is to promote and protect publishing and raise awareness of publishing as a force for economic, cultural and social development. Working in cooperation with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and other supranational bodies, the IPA champions the interests of book and journal publishing at national and supranational level. Internationally, the IPA actively opposes censorship and promotes copyright, freedom to publish (including through the IPA Prix Voltaire), and literacy. CONTACT US: International Publishers Association 23 Avenue de France CH-1202 Geneva Tel: +41 22 704 1820 www.internationalpublishers.org   Copyright © 2020 International Publishers Association, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in at our website Our mailing address is: International Publishers Association Avenue de France 23 Geneve 1202 Switzerland Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.