IPA Newsletter July 2026

Congress recap, Copyright lawsuit, Prix Voltaire award winners, Accessibility news and more

IPA NEWSLETTER July 2026 View this email in your browser 35th International Publishers Congress 35th International Publishers Congress in Kuala Lumpur a Resounding Success The 35th International Publishers Congress, which ran from 5-9 July 2026, brought together over 500 delegates from 44 countries and featured events on the future of global publishing, copyright, artificial intelligence, literacy, accessibility, and more. Read more.  IPA President Gvantsa Jobava's Opening Speech at the 35th International Publishers Congress IPA President, Gvantsa Jobava, welcomed participants to the 35th International Publishers Congress. In her speech, she reflected on IPA's history and its future against the backdrop of technological change. Read more.  IPA Vice President Giovanni Hoepli's Speech at the 35th International Publishers Congress IPA Vice President Giovanni Hoepli spoke on day two of the 35th International Publishers Congress about family and collaboration in a publishing context. Read more.  Yehia Fekry Speech at 2026 IPA Prix Voltaire Ceremony  Egyptian publisher Yehia Fekry, co-founder and CEO of El Maraya for Arts & Culture in Cairo, reflected on the power of publishing for democracy in his Prix Voltaire acceptance speech. Read more.  IPA Announces Winners of Champion and Innovation in Publishing Awards Alfredo Weiszflog, Shimmr, and Ailaysa Technologies Celebrated at the 35th International Publishers Congress - IPA Champion: Alfredo Weiszflog, Brazil - IPA Innovation in Publishing Award: Shimmr and Ailaysa Technologies. Read more.  Sharjah to Host the International Publishers Congress 2028 Sharjah City will host the International Publishers Congress (IPC) 2028, one of the publishing industry's most influential global gatherings, bringing the world's leading publishers, authors, rights professionals, and industry experts to Sharjah in October 2028 under the theme "Inclusion. Innovation. Integrity." Read more.  Kuala Lumpur Declaration  At the closing of the 35th International Publishers Congress, the Kuala Lumpur Declaration was announced. Read more.  Compliance Isn’t Access: Highlights from our IPA Congress Panel On July 7, 2026, a panel assembled in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, as part of the International Publishers Association Congress (IPA). This article, written by accessibility experts Laura Brady and Dr Agata Mrva-Montoya, focuses on the messages delivered in “The Next Frontier of Accessibility” panel. Read more.  Copyright Publishers and Authors File Class Action Lawsuit Against Google for Willful Copyright Infringement to Develop Gemini AI Models On 10 July 2026, Hachette Book Group, Cengage Learning Inc., Elsevier Inc., and bestselling author Scott Turow filed a putative class action lawsuit against Google for willful infringement of millions of textual works to develop Google’s Gemini large language models. Read more. Freedom to Publish 2026 IPA Prix Voltaire Awarded to El Maraya with Special Award for Mohamed Hashem Egyptian publisher Yehia Fekry awarded the 2026 International Publishers Association's Prix Voltaire at the award ceremony of the 35th International Publishers Congress in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The IPA also announced a Prix Voltaire Special Award for the deceased Egyptian publisher Mohamed Hashem. Read more.  Like Instagram LinkedIn Subscribe IPA on the Move IPA Secretary General Participates in Spanish Member’s Meeting On 1 July, IPA Secretary General, José Borghino, spoke on a panel at the ‘Encuentro de la Edición’, an annual meeting of Spanish publishers organized by the IPA’s Spanish member the Federación de Gremios de Editores de España (FGEE). Read more.  Other News Publishing and Accessibility Organisations Endorse Global Declaration on Braille Literacy in Education In June 2026, the International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI) and the World Blind Union (WBU) released the Global Declaration on Braille Literacy in Education as part of their Global Braille Literacy Campaign. Ten leading organisations, including IPA, have pledged their support. . Read more.  Submissions Open for Sheikh Zayed Book Award Translation Grant Submissions are officially open for the Sheikh Zayed Book Award's Translation Grant, which supports the translation, publication, and distribution of literary works that have won or been shortlisted for the Sheikh Zayed Book Award. Read more.  Interview with 2026 ABC International Excellence Award Winner, CEO Irene Enriques Zanichelli Editore was the winner of the 2026 ABC International Excellence Award for Accessible Publishing publisher award. We interviewed one of the CEOs, Irene Enriques, about the publisher's work, especially in regard to accessibility. Read more.  EDItEUR Series 12: EDItX E-Commerce Standards  In this series, Graham Bell, Executive Director of EDItEUR, shares occasional updates on EDItEUR's work and the standards it manages. Read more.  10th Anniversary Celebrations at WIPO Begin With Marrakesh Treaty Assembly on Accessible Books The Assembly of the Marrakesh Treaty was held at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva, Switzerland, on July 13, 2026, marking the beginning of celebrations for the tenth anniversary of the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled. Read more.  Blog Posts Reading Promotion Takes Central Stage on the Global Publishing Industry Agenda From discussions on the freedom to publish to debates on education, diversity, accessibility, and reading habits, the promotion of reading emerged as a unifying theme throughout the IPA World Congress in Kuala Lumpur. The session on reading habits and Bodour Al Qasimi's keynote underscored a shared conviction: the publishing industry's foremost challenge is to expand access to reading and foster deeper, freer, and more meaningful reading experiences. Read more.  Boekenboot at WorldPride Canal Parade in Amsterdam Next month the Boekenboot or Book Boat will be part of the WorldPride Canal Parade in Amsterdam. We had the opportunity to ask Tamar van Gelder, who heads up Stichting Lezen, the Reading Foundation, in the Netherlands several key questions about this unique new initiative. Read more.  IPA in the News IPA's condemnation of the arrests of two Hong Kong booksellers was covered by Publishing Perspectives. Egyptian publisher Yehia Fekry's acceptance of the 2026 IPA Prix Voltaire Award was covered by Publishing Perspectives, as was IPA's announcement of the 2026 Innovation Award Winners.  Insights on AI in publishing shared at IPA's 2026 Publishers Congress were covered by Publishers Weekly, as was a recapitulation of the Congress as a whole.  IPA's 2026 Prix Voltaire Award winners were spotlighted by Books + Publishing. IPA's 2026 Champion and Innovation Awards were covered by Livres Hebdo.  Egyptian publisher Yehia Fekry, IPA's Prix Voltaire 2026 Award winner, was highlighted by PublishNews.  Former IPA President Sheikha Boudour Al Qasimi's remarks on literacy and AI at the 35th International Publishers Congress were covered by Gulf Today. Malaysia's historic hosting of the 2026 International Publishers Congress was covered by Berita, Life News Agency, and Kwongwah.  IPA Prix Voltaire and Special Award winners were spotlighted by Giornale della Libreria,  Syndicat national de l'édition, and ActuaLitté.  IPA's 2026 Prix Voltaire winner: Egyptian publishing house El Maraya was covered by PIK and Titik Baca.  Malaysia's hosting of the 2026 International Publishers Congress was covered by Dagang News, Sinar Harian, and Red Tomato.  The International Publishers Congress's focus on publishers defending freedom of expression was covered by Dewan Masyarakat.  The shortlisting of Jerusalem publisher Dar AI-Jundi Publishing and Distribution for the 2026 Prix Voltaire was covered by Wathiq News.  The IPA Congress panel, "Emerging Markets: New Technologies, New Challenges," was covered by Publishing Perspectives.  Australian attendance at the 35th International Publishers Congress was covered by the Australian Publishers Association.   To Come August 6 Aug - 9 Aug: Feria de Editores (FED), Argentina 27 Aug - 30 Aug: Ghana International Book Fair See our full book fair listing on our site here. IPA's websites 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 22 336 20 55 www.internationalpublishers.org

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