IPA tells Bangladesh conference: blame for violence belongs only to the perpetrators

The IPA has told Bangladesh’s Secretary of Culture, Aktari Mamtaz, that responsibility for the spate of violent attacks on publishers and writers lies only with the perpetrators, and not the victims, at a ground-breaking freedom to publish conference, in Dhaka.
Alaa Al Aswany: freedom to publish at all-time worst in Egypt

Intentionally or not, Egyptian police marked World Press Freedom on 3 May by raiding the Syndicate of Journalists, in Cairo, and arresting two journalists.
Highlights of the 31st International Publishers Congress 2016, in London

The 31st International Publishers Congress, 9 -12 April, 2016, gathered more than 220 delegates from 41 countries in London’s majestic Olympia Conference Centre. This was the second time the Congress had taken place in the UK capital, but the first time it had run parallel to The London Book Fair.
Feature interview: Ensaf Haidar, wife of IPA Prix Voltaire winner, Raif Badawi

On Sunday, the IPA named jailed Saudi writer and free speech activist, Raif Badawi, the winner of the first IPA Prix Voltaire, formerly the IPA Freedom to Publish Prize. Badawi’s wife, Ensaf Haidar Mohammed, travelled from Canada – where she and their three children secured political asylum in 2013 – to collect the award on her husband’s behalf.
Freedom to Publish Prize finalist profile: Raif Badawi

Saudi Arabian writer, blogger and free speech activist, Raif Badawi, is currently four years into an extremely severe penal sentence that includes a 10-year jail term, 1,000 lashes and a hefty fine. Badawi is one of this year’s IPA Freedom to Publish Prize finalists.
Freedom to Publish Prize finalist profile: Moe Way

Burmese poet and writer Moe Way, who co-founded Myanmar’s The Eras publishing house to give voice to many of his country’s unheard poets and writers, is one of five finalists for the 2016 Freedom to Publish Prize.
Freedom to Publish Prize finalist profile: Bei Ling

Chinese publisher, poet and essayist, Bei Ling, who in 1993 founded Tendency, an exile literary journal published in Chinese until 2000, is one of five finalists for the 2016 IPA Freedom to Publish Prize.
Freedom to Publish Prize finalist profile: Ahmedur Rashid Chowdhury

Bangladeshi publisher Ahmedur Rashid Chowdhury, who was nearly killed by Islamist extremists in October 2015, is among the five finalists for the 2016 IPA Freedom to Publish Prize.
IPA joins Ibero-American publishers at unprecedented Havana meeting

The IPA has been making further inroads into Latin America after Secretary General José Borghino joined the first ever meeting in Havana, Cuba, of IPA associate member the Grupo IberoAmericano de Editores (GIE).
Richard Charkin at Mid-Term

Interviewed recently by Benedicte Page for The Bookseller, Richard Charkin talks about the challenges and achievements of his first 12 months as IPA president.