The International Publishers Association (IPA) has introduced a new award, the Freedom of Expression Defenders Award, aimed at recognizing efforts to protect freedom of expression, publishing, and the right to choose what one reads. Five organizations are shortlisted for the inaugural award, with the winner to be announced at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Gvantsa Jobava, president of the IPA, said the selected organizations reflect the goal of inspiring hope and demonstrating how groups can fight for freedom of expression and publication. Jessica Sänger, head of the IPA's Freedom to Publish committee, praised the variety of the contenders, which include associations, private companies, and coalitions. Among the shortlisted organizations is the Media Coalition in the United States, which defends the media's right to produce diverse content and the public's right to access it. The Penguin Random House Intellectual Freedom Taskforce, created in 2023, works against threats to publishing freedom. Sovlab in Georgia studies the country's past under totalitarian regimes and combats Russian disinformation. The StraightForward Foundation in Germany supports Russian artists facing censorship and exile. The Turkish Journalists Association, founded in 1946, has long defended press freedom with over 4,000 members today. The IPA also presents the annual Voltaire Prize, which honors publishers who have shown exceptional courage in the face of censorship and political pressure. In 2026, the prize went to the Egyptian publisher Yehia Fekry, with a special mention for his colleague Mohamed Hashem, who passed away in late 2025. Other developments in the publishing world include the launch of a new collection by Éditions du Félin called Spotlight, offering short books with chapters that can be read in any order. The National Association of Publishing in France has introduced Livrempreinte, a tool for calculating the carbon footprint of individual books. Meanwhile, the University of Edinburgh has received the archives of Palestinian author Raja Shehadeh, containing over five million words and historical documents from his father. The collection will require two years of work to preserve. The publishing industry faces significant challenges in Ukraine, where the Ukrainian Book Institute warns of a potential collapse of the book ecosystem due to ongoing destruction. In Russia, concerns are growing about the impact of restricting access to municipal funds, which could affect libraries. In Argentina, the province of Córdoba has invested in locally published works, while in Brazil, WMF Martins Fontes has removed its books from Amazon. In the United States, legal battles continue against book censorship, and publishers are experimenting with new formats to attract younger readers. In Russia, millions of books may have been destroyed in recent attacks, adding to the losses in Ukraine. In the United States, Microsoft is defending the "transformative use" of copyrighted material in training large language models, which could impact copyright law.