AAP awards Freedom to Publish Award to all publishers under attack across the globe

In a historic first, the Association of American Publishers (AAP) awarded its 2023 International Freedom to Publish Award to “all publishing houses in multiple countries and regions of the world that continued to publish in the face of increased government pressure, harassment and threats”.

The AAP said a number of publishing houses under consideration for the award “expressed concern over increased public recognition, fearing additional reprisals from local governments for both the recognition and their underlying work of disseminating materials that are critical of current regimes or politicians, or depict underrepresented groups”.

“From government censorship and book bans to harassment and arrests, pressure on the global publishing community has reached unprecedented levels,” said Terry Adams, chair, AAP Freedom to Publish Committee and digital and paperback publisher at Little, Brown and Company. “This year we heard from numerous publishers from various parts of the world who were grateful to be considered for recognition, but who also live in fear of the additional scrutiny, harassment, and danger that such an honour might bring. As a result, this year’s award is for the many houses who quietly fight the battle for free expression under impossibly difficult circumstances.”

Adams added: “We realise that the empty hole at the centre of this year’s award might seem to represent a missed opportunity to recognise some one individual publisher, and so in making this announcement we cannot emphasise strongly enough that the danger, the outrageous levels of censorship, the deep fears of reprisal, and the freedoms that are very much on the line make this the most important award we’ve ever given.

“On behalf of AAP’s board of directors and Freedom to Publish Committee, we send a loud and clear message to publishing professionals who are under siege for their bravery, their determination, and their sacrifice: we see you.”

The International Freedom to Publish Award, which was established in 2002, recognises publishers outside the US who have demonstrated “courage and fortitude” in defending freedom of expression.

The award was created in honour of Jeri Laber, a co-founder of Human Rights Watch and founding member of AAP’s Freedom to Publish Committee.