At the IPA awards program in Guadalajara announcing Gaza publisher and bookseller Samir Mansour the 2024 Prix Voltaire laureate and a special posthumous reward for Ukraine’s Victoria Amelina. Image: Publishing Perspectives, Porter Anderson
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
See also: Gaza Bookseller Samir Mansour Wins the 2024 IPA Prix Voltaire
Deadline for Nominations: February 23
From its offices in Geneva, the International Publishers Association‘s (IPA) unique Prix Voltaire program is today (January 9) announcing the opening of its 2025 cycle, with nominations immediately open for this award that recognizes “exemplary courage in upholding the freedom to publish and enabling others to exercise their freedom of expression.”
As Publishing Perspectives know well, the Prix Voltaire was initially awarded in 2006 under a different name. Over the years—now one year shy of its 20th anniversary—the recognition has become one of the highest-visibility elements of IPA’s programming.
With the organization’s two key pillars of interest being the protection of copyright and the freedom to publish, this award is easily the key ensign of the freedom-to-publish wing of IPA’s services to the professional world book publishing community. In particularly high-profile cases of international oppression, IPA finds itself standing in league with fellow international agencies including Amnesty International, PEN International, and many more.
The 2024 Prix Voltaire was announced in December during the IPA’s 34th Publishers Congress at Guadalajara, and recognized Gaza entrepreneur Samir Mansour, whose Samir Mansour Bookshop for Printing and Publishing has been a critical part of the local community in Gaza for more than 20 years, publishing Palestinian authors and housing thousands of books in various languages.
Samir Mansour
Mansour’s bookstore and publishing center was destroyed in 2021, rebuilt and re-opened in 2023, and then severely damaged again in the current Israel-Hamas conflict very shortly after October 7.
“I am still publishing despite being on the Gaza Strip,” Mansour said in his message of acceptance to the congress. “God willing us, we will continue to publish and to print, no matter how difficult the circumstances we are living in today. We will continue.”
The late Ukrainian author and war-crimes specialist Victoria Amelina was given a special posthumous award at Guadalajara, accepted by Oleksandra Matviichuk of the Center for Civil Liberties (Nobel Peace Prize 2022).
Einarsson: ‘Celebrate Their Bravery’
Kristenn Einarsson
In a comment on today’s opening of the 2025 Prix Voltaire season, Kristenn Einarsson, IPA’s Freedom to Publish committee chair, is quoted, saying, “We look forward to receiving nominations about these publishers so that we can celebrate their bravery and inspire others to stand up for the freedom to publish, the freedom of expression and the freedom to read.”
Nominations now are open for the 2025 award until February 23.
With the direction of IPA’s James Taylor, the nine members of the Freedom to Publish committee then create a longlist before agreeing on a shortlist and selecting the 2025 laureate.
The IPA 2025 IPA Prix Voltaire ceremony will take place at the World Expression Forum, WEXFO (June 2 and 3) in Lillehammer. Einarsson, of course, is the founding CEO of WEXFO, which this time will be in its fourth year.
Any individual, group, or organization can nominate a publisher, defined as an individual, collective or organization that provides others with the means to share their ideas in written form, including via digital platforms.
Nominees will have recently published controversial works amid pressure, threats, intimidation, or harassment. Alternatively, they may be publishers with a distinguished record over many years of upholding the freedom to publish and freedom of expression.
Nominations should be submitted by email at prix-voltaire@internationalpublishers.org, using this application form.
Prix Voltaire Laureates to Date
| Year | Prix Voltaire Laureate | Special Award |
| 2024 | Samir Mansour (Palestine) | Victoria Amelina (Ukraine) |
| 2023 | Mazin Lateef Ali (Iraq) | Volodymyr Vakulenko (Ukraine) |
| 2022 | Same Sky Books (Thailand) | |
| 2021 | Dar Al Jadeed (Lebanon) | Li Liqun (China) |
| 2020 | Liberal Publishing House (Vietnam) | |
| 2019 | Khaled Lotfy (Egypt) | |
| 2018 | Gui Minhai (Sweden / Hong Kong | Faisal Arefin Dipan (Bangladesh), Liu Xiaobo (China) |
| 2017 | Turhan Günay and publishing house Evrensel | |
| 2016 | Raif Badawi (Saudi Arabia) | |
| 2014 | Ihar Lohvinau (Belarus) | |
| 2012 | “Zapiro” (South Africa) | |
| 2011 | Bui Chat (Vietnam) | |
| 2010 | I. Shovkhalov and V. Kogan-Yasni of DOSH (Chechnya / Russia) | |
| 2009 | S Bensedrine, N. Rijba, M. Talbi, Founders of OLPEC (Tunisia) | Irfran Sanci (Turkey) |
| 2008 | Ragip Zarakolu (Turkey) | |
| 2007 | Trevor Ncube (Zimbabwe) | Anna Politkovskaya (Russia), Hrant Dink (Turkey) |
| 2006 | Shalah Lahiji (Iran) |
2024 Prix Voltaire Sponsors
- Albert Bonniers Förlag (Sweden)
- Holtzbrinck (Germany)
- Penguin Random House
- C.H.Beck (Germany)
More sponsors from the world publishing community are always needed to support the unparalleled efforts of the Prix Voltaire program and its annual cash award of 10,000 Swiss francs (US$10,966). It continues to be the case that a very small number of world publishers become donors.
To find out how you or your organization can support the IPA Prix Voltaire, contact prix-voltaire@internationalpublishers.org.
Nominees for the 2024 Prix Voltaire are recognized at the award ceremony at Guadalajara. Image: Publishing Perspectives, Porter Anderson
More from Publishing Perspectives on issues of the freedom to publish and freedom of expression is here, more on the Prix Voltaire is here, and on the International Publishers Association is here. More on the World Expression Forum, WEXFO, is here.
Publishing Perspectives is the global media partner of the International Publishers Association.