International Publishers Congress

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Speakers

Agata
Mrva-Montoya

Senior Lecturer, University of Sydney

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Dr Agata Mrva-Montoya

Dr Agata Mrva-Montoya is senior lecturer in the Discipline of Media and Communications at the University of Sydney. Previously, she worked at Sydney University Press, where she led the implementation of accessible publishing practices. Her research examines the ways technological innovation and power structures shape the publishing industry, focusing specifically on their impact on equitable access to literature and knowledge. She is author of Inclusive publishing and the quest for reading equity (2025) and co-author of Books without barriers: a practical guide to inclusive publishing (2023).

Ahmed Rashad

CEO, Al Dar Al Masriah Al Lubnaniah for Publishing, Egypt

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Ahmed Rashad

Ahmed Rashad is the CEO of Al Dar Al Masriah Al Lubnaniah Publishing House, one of the leading publishing houses in the Arab world with a history spanning over 40 years. With more than 20 years of experience in the publishing industry, he was appointed by the Minister of Investment and External Trade of Egypt as Vice President of the Export Council for Printing, Packaging, Paper, Books, and Artistic Works. Currently, he serves on the Executive Committee of the International Publishers Association, becoming the third Arab to hold this position in IPA history. Additionally, he is a board member of the Egyptian Publishers Association and acts as a consultant for various cultural entities. He is also a former Vice President of the Arab Children's Publisher Forum, part of the Sharjah Book Authority.

Ali Abd El-Moneim Ahmed

Co-Founder & CEO,
Arabookverse International

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Ali Abd El-Moneim Ahmed

Ali Abdelmoneim is a publishing leader from Egypt with over 25 years of experience across the Arab and global markets. He is the CEO and Co-Founder of Arabookverse International (UAE & Egypt), driving innovation in Arabic digital publishing and global distribution of audiobooks and eBooks. Previously, he headed Arabic content acquisition at Storytel and played an active role in the Egyptian Publishers Association. With a strong focus on digital transformation, international partnerships, and market expansion, Ali is dedicated to elevating Arabic content on the global stage.

Alisha Hasan

Founder & Chief Innovation Officer, Helsinki Film Lab

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Alisha Hasan

Alisha Hasan is an internationally experienced producer, marketing strategist, and the Founder and Chief Innovation Officer at Helsinki Film Lab, a new creative hub for film, TV, gaming and literary professionals which focuses on cross-industry education, 1:1 curated Film x Game x Book matchmaking and international transmedia networking events. In 2024, Alisha introduced a slate of standout initiatives at the industry event Finnish Film Affair, including Finnish Weird, a curated showcase celebrating genre-defying storytelling from Finland, and a pioneering Film x Game matchmaking event that connects game developers with screen creatives to transform original IP across formats. With 16 years of experience across Finland, the UK, and Malta, Alisha has led creative and strategic efforts in both production and marketing. In Malta, she specialised in producing branded short-form content, building and scaling a multilingual in-house video department at Game Lounge that served 37 sites in 26 languages. At Gutsy Animations, she managed global marketing for Moominvalley and worked on licensing collaborations with major brands including Reima, Huawei, Rovio, and Macmillan. Alisha holds a BA in Film and TV Production from Anglia Ruskin University and an MSc in International Business and Politics from Queen Mary University of London.

Anna Burkey

Head of Australia Reads

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Anna Burkey

Anna Burkey is the Head of Australia Reads, a national not-for-profit on a mission to get more Australians reading. Originally hailing from Scotland, Anna was on the founding team of Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature. Now living in Melbourne/Naarm in Australia, she has held senior roles at State Library Victoria – leading the Centre for Youth Literature – and at the Australian Publishers’ Association, where she oversaw communications and public advocacy for the publishing sector. Anna is passionate about books, storytelling, and learning, and wants to see more Australians have access to the life-changing benefits of recreational reading.

Anna Mae Yu Lamentillo

Founder & Chief Future Officer, NightOwl AI

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Anna Mae Yu Lamentillo

Anna Mae Yu Lamentillo is the founder of NightOwl AI, a mission-driven company harnessing artificial intelligence to preserve endangered languages and fight digital exclusion. A proud member of the Karay-a ethnolinguistic group in the Philippines, Anna Mae is passionate about building AI systems that reflect the full spectrum of human culture—not just the dominant few. Anna Mae earned her Development Communication degree cum laude from the University of the Philippines Los Baños, where she was awarded the Faculty Medal for Academic Excellence. She completed her Juris Doctor at the UP College of Law, executive education in Economic Development at Harvard Kennedy School, and her MSc in Cities from the London School of Economics. She is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Major Programme Management at the University of Oxford. At the heart of her work is a simple but urgent belief: everyone deserves a voice in the digital future—especially those who have been systemically left out of it.

Balint Taborski

Founder, BookTranslate.ai; Publisher, Praxeum Publishing (Hungary)

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Balint Taborski

Balint Taborski is the founder of BookTranslate.ai, an AI-powered literary translation platform built to preserve authorial voice, fidelity, and style across languages. He is also the publisher behind Praxeum Publishing, Hungary’s dedicated libertarian press, where he has translated and released dozens of classic works in political philosophy and economics. His work focuses on combining technology, philosophy, and literature to revive important texts for new audiences.

Brian Gilsenan

CEO, CJ Fallon Publishing; Chairman, IPA Educational Publishers Forum

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Brian Gilsenan

Brian has worked in publishing for over 25 years and heads up Ireland’s leading educational publisher since 2008.

Eboni Waitere

Executive Director, Huia Publishers; President, Publishers Association of New Zealand

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Eboni Waitere

Eboni Waitere (Ngāti Kahungunu, Rangitāne) is Executive Director at Huia Publishers and president of the Publishers Association of New Zealand | Te Rau o Tākupu. Over the past decade, Eboni has helped shape Huia Publishers into a respected name in publishing worldwide with a focus on growing talent, elevating Māori voices and forging partnerships that centre equity and excellence.

Elena Pasoli

Director, Bologna Children’s Book Fair

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Elena Pasoli

Elena Pasoli is Director of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair (BCBF), member of the Executive Committee of the Italian section of Ibby - International Board on Books for Young People. In the last ten years her work has focused on the international development of the Fair, bringing it to become the co-organizer of the China Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair (CCBF) and organize various children’s illustrations exhibitions in more than 40 countries. Thanks to this activity, Elena won in 2018 the international Eric Carle Honor prize in the Bridge Category. Before her current position, she had been events manager at BolognaFiere and directed the Communications department of the University of Bologna Foundation. She has a degree in Classic Literatur.

Emma House

International Publishing Consultant; Founder, Oreham Group

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Emma House

Emma House is an international publishing consultant with over 25 years’ experience in the global publishing industry. She has held senior positions at the London Book Fair and the UK Publishers Association. Emma is the project manager of Quick Reads, an adult literacy initiative run by the Reading Agency, and chair of the Scholarly Networks Security Initiative. Emma is the vice chair of the Publishing Training Centre and an advisory board member of Oxford Centre for International Publishing Studies. She also curates conferences and events for books fairs and tech companies and is a regular speaker at global publishing fora.

Fatimah Abbas

International Publishing Consultant & AI Strategist

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Fatimah Abbas

Fatimah Abbas is an international publishing consultant, literary agent/scout, and AI strategist, and the founder of FALA Agency. She advises global publishers on rights trading, distribution, and strategic market expansion, bringing expertise in digital innovation and the integration of AI in publishing. Formerly MENA Regional Director at an AI company, she now leads initiatives such as the Cairo Calling fellowship and the region’s first digital publishing conference. A speaker and moderator at major industry events, including the Frankfurt Rights Meeting session on AI, she is frequently featured in international media and was shortlisted for the London Book Fair Excellence Award.

GeumJoo Lin

Co-Founder & CEO, CO.MINT Inc

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GeumJoo Lin

GeumJoo Lin is co-founder and CEO of CO.MINT Inc., where she directs digital content distribution, consulting, and copyright management for IPs from Korea and beyond. With extensive experience in publishing and digital media, she led Storytel’s service launch in South Korea and the digital release of the Harry Potter series. Lin contributed to the 2023 PublisHer Seoul Conference and joined its advisory board. Actively engaged as a speaker and juror, including the BolognaRagazzi Cross Media Award, she is currently pursuing graduate research at Ewha Womans University on the future of copyright in the era of the technology revolution.

Giovanni Hoepli

Vice President, International Publishers Association

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Giovanni Hoepli

Giovanni Hoepli, born in Milan in 1966, is Executive and Vice President of Hoepli S.p.A., a publishing house founded in 1870, renowned for its leading role in scientific, academic, and educational publishing, as well as for its iconic independent bookstore in the heart of Milan. Deeply engaged in the publishing community, he has been active in the Italian Publishers Association (AIE) and in SIAE, the Italian collecting society, since 2003. From 2015 to 2023 served on the Executive Committee of the International Publishers Association, where he was elected Vice President in 2025. Alongside his professional commitments, he has long demonstrated a strong dedication to social causes, volunteering for 13 years in Milan’s ambulance service and actively engaged in EMERGENCY, the international NGO based in Milan. In 2012 he co-founded and serves as Vice President of EMERGENCY Switzerland Foundation.

Jaeho Kang

Professor, Seoul National University; Korean Publishers Association

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Jaeho Kang

Dr Jaeho Kang is a professor in the Department of Communication at Seoul National University and a member of the Freedom to Publish Committee of the International Publishers Association. Kang, a PhD from the University of Cambridge, has held positions at SOAS, the University of London, The New School in New York City, and Institut für Sozialforschung in Frankfurt. In collaboration with the Korean Publishers Association, Kang has served as a scholar, consultant, and expert in the publishing industry for various events and institutions such as the Seoul International Book Fair, Korean Book Editor's School, and Korean Publishers Research Institute.

Kai Zenner

Head of Office & Digital Policy Adviser, MEP Axel Voss

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Kai Zenner

Kai Zenner is Head of Office and Digital Policy Adviser for MEP Axel Voss (European People’s Party) in the European Parliament. He focuses on AI and data policy but also promotes the EU’s digital transition and Good Governance principles. Besides, he is 'Fellow of Practice' at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), Member of the OECD.AI Network of Experts, and Member of the 'AI Governance Alliance' at the World Economic Forum. In 2023, Mr Zenner was awarded best MEP Assistant and ranked Place #13 in Politico's Power 40, while he received EAIF’s 'European AI Award' in 2024 and was listed as one of the '14 movers and shakers to watch for in Tech policy' by Euronews in 2025.

Karine Pansa

CEO, Grupo Girassol Brasil

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Karine Pansa

Karine Pansa has been active in the Brazilian publishing sector for nearly thirty years, leading initiatives that bring books and reading closer to children and families. As head of Grupo Girassol Brasil, which encompasses several imprints, she has built strong national and international partnerships to expand the reach of children’s literature. Known for her global perspective, she served as President of the International Publishers Association (IPA) and continues to contribute to boards and projects that strengthen the book industry worldwide. Her career reflects a blend of management, innovation, and a strong commitment to broadening access to culture.

Khaled Lotfy

Egyptian Publisher;  Founder, Tanmia Bookstores

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Khaled Lotfy

Khaled Lotfy is an Egyptian publisher and the founder of Tanmia Bookstores. I established Tanmia in 2011, and within a few years, Tanmia became a destination for Egyptian and non-Egyptian intellectuals, providing books from Arab publishing houses and distributing them within Egypt. I launched my publishing project in 2016 through joint Egyptian editions with major Arab publishing houses, providing readers with important books at reasonable prices and eliminating piracy. They embraced the idea of ​​joint editions. Tanmia's publications have won several awards. As a publisher, I was awarded the Voltaire Prize for Freedom of Opinion and Expression by the IPA.

Kọ́lá Túbọ̀sún

Nigerian Writer & Linguist

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Kọ́lá Túbọ̀sún

Kọ́lá Túbọ̀sún is a Nigerian writer and linguist, currently the Africa co-editor of Best Literary Translations anthology, and publisher of OlongoAfrica.com. Fulbright scholar (2009), Miles Morland Writing Fellow (2018), and Chevening Research Fellow at the British Library (2019/2020), his work has been published in African Writer, Aké Review, Brittle Paper, International Literary Quarterly, PEN Transmissions, Enkare Review, Maple Tree Literary Supplement, Jalada, Popula, Saraba Magazine, World Literature Today, etc. He has translated Chimamanda Adichie, Haruki Murakami, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Wole Soyinka, James Baldwin, Cervantes between English and Yorùbá. His work in language advocacy earned him the Premio Ostana Special Prize in Italy in 2016.

Laura Brady

Digital Publishing Consultant, eBOUND Canada

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Laura Brady

Laura Brady is an accessible publishing expert who works with eBound Canada, the Accessible Books Consortium, the International Publishers Association, and Adobe among other organizations. She has more than 25 years of trade publishing experience, working in digital publishing for the past fifteen years, creating and converting ebooks, training publishers on accessible workflows, and consulting for services organizations about how to publish inclusively while worrying about everyone's reading experience. She teaches about ebooks, publishing, and accessibility at Simon Fraser University and Toronto Metropolitan University.

Laurent LE MEUR

CEO of the European Digital Reading Lab (EDRLab)

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Laurent LE MEUR

Laurent is the CEO of EDRLab, a global non-profit organization that works on creating an open infrastructure for the digital book publishing ecosystem. As a software engineer and open standards expert, Laurent leads the technical development of the Text and Data Mining Reservation Protocol (TDMRep), which helps publishers reserve their rights against the use of content by AI systems. He also participates in the IETF AI-Pref initiative, with the same goals as TDMRep, and he leads the development of Readium LCP, a modern Digital Rights Management solution for ebooks and audiobooks.

Law King Hui

Group Managing Director, Sasbadi Holdings Berhad

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Law King Hui

Law King Hui is the co-founder of Sasbadi Holdings Berhad and leads the Group's development, strategic direction, and innovation, transforming it from a traditional print publisher into a provider of diverse educational solutions, including digital learning, STEM tools, and various education services. With over 45 years of experience, he has held key leadership roles across numerous industry organisations. His contributions to the education sector have earned him national recognition, including being featured as one of the 21 personalities in the publication “Tokoh-tokoh Perbukuan Malaysia” by the National Library of Malaysia.

Lawrence Njagi

Managing Director, Mountain Top Educational Publishers Ltd. Nairobi

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Lawrence Njagi

Lawrence Njagi is the Managing Director, Mountain Top Educational Publishers Ltd. Nairobi Mountain Top Educational Publishers is one of the leading publishing houses in Africa with reach in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Rwanda and Zambia. Mountain Top is a major player in Educational publishing in Kenya with over 1000 titles published since its inception in 2002. Currently, he is also a Chairman of African Publishers Network (APNET), Chairman of Kenya Publishers Association (KPA) for 9 years and Executive Board Member of International Publishers Association (IPA).

Li Pengyi

Vice President of the Publishers Association of China

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Li Pengyi

Li Pengyi has been focusing on the publishing industry for more than four decades with continuous enthusiasm and devotion. During his career, he has served as president of Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, Higher Education Press, and China Education Publishing & Media Group. He is a former member of the Executive Committee of the International Publishers Association and the International Advisory Board of Frankfurt Book Fair. He now serves as the vice president of the Publishers Association of China, and the dean of the publishing school of Beijing Institute of Graphic Communication.

Loh Chin Ee

Associate Professor & Associate Dean, NIE, Nanyang Technological University

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Loh Chin Ee

Loh Chin Ee is Associate Professor at the English Language and Literature Department and Associate Dean (Partnerships) at the Office for Research at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University. Her research focuses on young people’s reading at the intersection of globalisation and technological changes as well as the role of school libraries in fostering reading for pleasure and lifelong learning. Her most recent books are The Reading Lives of Teens: Research & Practice (Routledge, 2025, UKLA Academic Book Award) and Little Things: An Anthology of Poetry (2nd Edition, Ethos, 2025). She is host of the How We Read podcast

Louise Stark

CEO, Hachette Australia &
New Zealand; Director, Australian Publishers Association

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Louise Stark

Louise Stark is the CEO for Hachette ANZ, a subsidiary of Hachette Livre. She also serves on the board of the Australian Publishers’ Association and has served on the board of the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. Louise has 20 years in executive roles and has worked for companies including Ryland Peters & Small, Faber & Faber and Hodder & Stoughton in London and Google Play, Bloomsbury and Hachette in Sydney. Louise consistently delivers strong financial results and a collaborative, resilient and creative culture. She is passionate about promoting the benefits of reading and ensuring that Australians can see themselves reflected in the stories they read.

Luis González Martín

 Managing Director, Foundation GSR

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Luis González Martín

Director at FGSR. He is founder of PARIX, Spanish book industry School, launched several innovation projects and founded Readmagine and he's co-chair of the IPA's literacy subcommittee. Previously his career included previous positions as senior civil servant, when worked at the Ministry of Culture and designed the first National Plan for the Promotion of Reading in Spain. Studied Law and Master in Fiscal Law (UAM), Senior Civil Servants training at INAP (Madrid) and Civil Service College (London) among others. Vice-president of the Spanish Association of Foundations and was awarded the Order of R.P. for exceptional services to the country.

Mac Hawkins

Principal & Founder, Pragmatic Pictures

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Mac Hawkins

Mac Hawkins is a film/TV literary scout, entrepreneur, and writer. He is the founder and principal of Pragmatic, a New York–based global scouting advisory that identifies books for screen adaptation and advises creators and companies on IP strategy, development, curation, and marketing. Before founding Pragmatic, he worked in publishing and film at Paramount Pictures, WME, and HarperCollins. He also writes Your Inside Voice, Pragmatic’s intel-filled monthly Substack newsletter, and has published widely, most recently in 64 Parishes magazine. A frequent speaker on literary and entertainment topics, he has appeared at fairs and conferences in New York, Brussels, Frankfurt, and beyond.

Markus Dohle

Founder & CEO, Markus Dohle LLC

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Markus Dohle

Markus Dohle is the founding past CEO of Penguin Random House, the world’s largest trade book publisher, operating 350 editorially independent imprints in more than 20 countries worldwide. Markus’s entire professional life has been devoted to the support and service of authors, publishers, booksellers, and readers. Today, Markus serves as Founder & CEO of his own company, and as Investor, Advisor and Board Member for a dozen companies and not-for-profit organizations in the book business globally. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the founder of the “Dohle Book Defense Fund” against books bans in the US and for the freedom to write and to read around the world.

Melissa Fleming

United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications

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Melissa Fleming

Melissa Fleming is the UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, leading an international team to inform audiences about the state of the world and build support for the work and goals of the United Nations. She oversees strategic and crisis communications, multilingual news and digital media platforms, information integrity, and global campaigns. Her career includes senior communications roles at UNHCR, IAEA, OSCE, and RFE/RL. She is the author of the book, A Hope More Powerful than the Sea and hosts the award-winning UN podcast, Awake at Night. She holds degrees from Boston University and Oberlin College.

Michiel Kolman

Senior VP Research Network, Elsevier

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Michiel Kolman

Dr. Michiel Kolman is Senior VP Research Networks at Elsevier where he has worked for 30 years. Michiel is Past President of the IPA, where he now chairs the Inclusive Publishing and Literacy committee. At Elsevier, in the academic community and across the publishing industry, Michiel supports thought leadership, the SDGs, climate change and pushes for a more inclusive world. Michiel chairs the Workplace Pride board supporting LGBTIQ+ workplace inclusion. He holds a degree from Leiden University in the Netherlands and a PhD in astrophysics from Columbia University in New York, where he studied with a Fulbright scholarship.

Nadia Kandrusevich

Translator and Publisher, Belarus

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Nadia Kandrusevich

Nadia Kandrusevich is a Belarusian translator and publisher, founder of the independent children’s book publishing house Koska. Since 2018, she has specialized in bringing Swedish children’s literature into the Belarusian language, translating works by renowned authors such as Sven Nordqvist, Jujja Wieslander, Sara Lundberg, Emma Adbåge, and others. Her work has been recognized with several prestigious awards: the “Warm Heart” Award of the Swedish Academy of Children’s Literature (2018), the Karłas Šerman Award (2019) for her translation of Sven Nordqvist’s books, and the IPA Prix Voltaire (2025), an international honor awarded to publishers who show outstanding courage in defending the freedom to publish.

Nadim Sadek

Founder & CEO, Shimmr AI

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Nadim Sadek

Nadim Sadek is Founder & CEO of Shimmr AI, delivering autonomous advertising to sell books. He’s a published author with 'Shimmer, don't Shake – how publishing can embrace AI', 'Quiver, don't Quake – how Creativity can embrace AI', and forthcoming 'Tales from a Faraway Land'. He writes for Forbes and The Bookseller and delivers global AI thought-leadership. Trained as a psychologist, he founded global market research firms, a whiskey, food and music business on an Irish island, and an AI brand-management platform. Nadim is Board Advisor to BookBrunch and Sinai AI. He manages a Warner artist and presents motorcycle reviews on Boss Bikes Club.

Olatoun Gabi-Williams

Borders Literature, All Nations

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Olatoun Gabi-Williams

Olatoun Gabi-Williams is a Nigerian journalist, social advocate, and literary activist. She founded Sponsor A Child Nigeria (2003–2015), noted for Building Futures, a Procter & Gamble - funded initiative providing educational and recreational resources in Nigerian care institutions and The Good Home Scheme, selected by the French Government in Nigeria as its 2014 Human Rights Project. In 2015 she founded Borders Literature for All Nations, which promotes African literature globally and advocates fair-trade publishing, highlighting the community origins of works in indigenous languages. A Guardian Arts (Nigeria) columnist, she also administers the national award-winning Gabi Williams Alzheimer’s Foundation, honouring her late father, Dr. Gabisiu Williams.

Peter Schoppert

Director, NUS Press; Vice President, Singapore Book Publishers Association

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Peter Schoppert

Peter Schoppert is a publisher and reformed technology entrepreneur. He is Director of the NUS Press, the scholarly publishing arm of the National University of Singapore. Peter started in publishing with illustrated books packager Times Editions and later Editions Didier Millet where he worked on photo books and illustrated reference projects across the region. From there he went to the internet business, all the way to a NASDAQ IPO, before going B2B, back to books. After a stint with McKinsey, he rejoined the publishing industry 12 years ago. He is past President of the Singapore Book Publishers Association and writes on generative AI at aicopyright.substack.com

Pranav Gupta

Managing Director, Prints Publications; Vice President, The Federation of Indian Publishers

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Pranav Gupta

Pranav is the Managing Director of Prints Publications and Founder of Buy Books India, Advit Toys, Aviraj Educational Resources and Swets Information Services. He serves as the Vice President for The Federation of Indian Publishers and the elected Secretary-General for the Indian Reprographic Rights Organisation. Pranav is the first recipient of the Outstanding Young Global Leader Award by The Federation of Indian Publishers. He is also Chairman of the Data & Statistics Committee of the International Publishers Association (IPA), Geneva. He is also an elected Director for the Afro-Asia Book Council. His well-rounded industry exposure has made him a frequent speaker at national and international events. His writings have appeared in various newspapers, journals, and publications, and he has penned a book on IP Reprographic Rights.

Rachel Martin

Senior Global Director Sustainability, Elsevier; Member, the IPLC IPA Committee

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Rachel Martin

Rachel Martin is a leader in sustainability within the publishing industry, serving as Senior Global Director of Sustainability at Elsevier. She oversees the company’s Climate Action program, contributing to significant milestones that includes an 83% reduction in direct emissions since 2018. As an active member of the IPA’s Inclusive Publishing and Sustainability Committee, Rachel plays a key role in global initiatives like the UN Sustainable Development Goals Publishers Compact and the SDG Book Club, supporting chapters worldwide. As co-founder of the Publishing 2030 Accelerator, she has advanced projects such as carbon footprinting for print books. She also chairs the STM Social Responsibility Committee, developing practical tools to help publishers integrate sustainability into their operations.

Ramiro Villalba Garibaldi

Director, AZ editora

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Ramiro Villalba Garibaldi

Ramiro is Director of AZ, an independent publishing house based in Argentina and Brazil, recognized for its children's and educational books. With a BA in Graphic Design and twenty years of experience, he leads the publisher's projects and business development. He is President of the Educational Publishers Forum in Latin America from the International Publishers Association, member of the board at the Argentine Book Chamber and Coordinator of the Educational Committee. Selected in 2009 by the British Council as Argentine Young Publishing Entrepreneur of the year, he has been invited to international book fairs and publishing events around the world.

Rasha Al Ameer

Writer and Publisher,  Dar al-Jadeed, Lebanon

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Rasha al Ameer

A publisher honored with her assassinated brother Lokman Slim by Prix Voltaire, a writer, her book Judgment Day written in Arabic was translated to English, French and Italian . She lives and works on memory and justice in Beirut.

Richard Mollet

Head, European Government Affairs, RELX

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Richard Mollet

Richard joined RELX in 2016 leading the European government relations teams in the UK, France, Germany, Netherlands and EU. He also has responsibility for leading RELX’s engagement with global institutions WIPO and OECD. In this role he co-ordinates political engagement on policies including Artificial Intelligence, copyright, open science, and privacy. Prior to this Richard was Chief Executive of The Publishers Association (2010-16), and was concurrently Chair of the Alliance for Intellectual Property. Previously he was Director of Public Affairs at the BPI (British Recorded Music Industry (2006-10), following 12 years working in various political consultancy roles with Fleishman-Hillard and Edelman.

Roberto Banchik Rothschild

Editor, Penguin Random House Grupo México / CANIEM

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Roberto Banchik Rothschild

Roberto Banchik Rothschild was born and raised in Mexico City. He has served as CEO of various publishing companies in Mexico including Grupo Planeta, Ediciones Castillo, and Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial since 2011, overseeing operations in Mexico, Central America, and the Spanish-language market in the US. He joined the IPA Executive Committee in 2020 and was elected to its Freedom to Publish Committee in 2022. Roberto has also been on Mexico’s Publishers Association Executive Committee multiple times and received the Publishing Trade Award from Mexico’s PA in 2021.

Romana Cacchioli

Executive Director, PEN International

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Romana Cacchioli

Romana Cacchioli has over 25 years’ experience working in human rights and development. She joined PEN International in March 2014 as Director of International Programmes. Executive Director since October 2020, she works closely with the International Board and leads the Secretariat based in London, with oversight of the organisations work including emergency support to writers at risk, international advocacy, strategy setting and programmatic development. Romana’s experience in human rights, includes working with Anti-Slavery International where she led work pressing for reform in law and redress through national and regional courts for those affected by slavery. As well as with the International Centre for the Protection of Human Rights (INTERIGHTS) where she coordinated programmes in Asia and Africa, for the protection and enforcement of human rights standards.

Sandra Tamele

Mozambican Publishers & Booksellers Association – AMEL

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Sandra Tamele

Sandra Tamele (BArch, MCIL) is the President of the Mozambican Publishers and Booksellers Association and serves on the International Committee of Independent Publishers, as an Advisory Board Member of PublisHer and the African Books Collective. Having translated 50 works by renowned authors, including Nobel Laureates Wole Soyinka and Naguib Mahfouz, she received a PEN Translates Award (2022), was longlisted for the Dublin Literary Award (2023) and awarded a Looren Excellence Grant (2025). As the founder of Editora Trinta Zero Nove, she received the London Book Fair International Excellence Award (2021) and the BOP Children’s Publisher of the Year Award(2023).

Sherif Bakr

General Manager, Al Arabi Publishing and Distributing

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Sherif Bakr

Sherif Bakr has worked in publishing since 1997 and is General Manager of Al Arabi Publishing and Distributing, founded in 1975. He launched the #Different_Books series, which has published over 650 titles from 76 countries. He served as General Secretary of the Egyptian Publishers Association and has been elected four times to the International Publishers Association’s Freedom to Publish Committee. In Egypt, he is a member of several national cultural committees and contributed to formulating Egypt’s Cultural Vision 2040. He also leads Cairo Calling and coordinates Arab Voices, while speaking regularly at international book fairs.

Simon De Jocas

President, Éditions Les 400 coups

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Simon de Jocas

Simon de Jocas, a seasoned educator and publisher with over 35 years of experience, began as a teacher before holding key roles in publishing houses like Beauchemin and Nelson. In 2013, he acquired Les 400 coups, a children’s publishing house, focusing on discoverability, accessibility, and diversity. Active in the industry, he serves on various committees including the Executive committee and the Freedom to Publish committee of the International Publishers’ Association. In 2020, he co-founded Publishers Without Borders (PWB) which bolds over 5 000 members. Known for his commitment to education, the French language, and editorial innovation, he is a leading figure in Francophone publishing.

Siva Sothinathan

Managing Director, Uma Publications Sdn. Bhd.; Chair, Educational Publishers Forum ASEAN+

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Siva Sothinathan

Siva Sothinathan is a Malaysian educational publisher. He serves as Vice President of the Malaysian Book Publishers Association and Chair of the Educational Publishers Forum ASEAN+ at the International Publishers Association, where he works to strengthen collaboration and knowledge-sharing across diverse educational publishing markets. He is Managing Director of Uma Publications Sdn. Bhd., leading the development of multilingual educational materials in Tamil, English, and Bahasa Melayu. His work focuses on the intersection of education policy, publishing ecosystems, and market sustainability, and he collaborates with public-interest organisations and NGOs to support long-term educational development in Malaysia and the wider region.

Trasvin Jittidecharak

Secretary General, ASEAN Book Publishers Association

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Trasvin Jittidecharak

Trasvin Jittidecharak founded Silkworm Books, Thailand’s leading independent English-language publisher on Southeast Asia Studies, which she still runs. It is recognized for its editorial quality and international distribution through the University of Washington Press. A Parsons-trained designer with further publishing education at Stanford, she has advanced global appreciation of Thai and regional scholarship through collaborations with institutions such as the École Française d’Extrême-Orient. Trasvin has served on the International Publishers Association’s Executive Committee and Freedom to Publish Committee, was instrumental in Bangkok’s designation as UNESCO World Book Capital 2013, and is the ASEAN Book Publishers Association Secretary General.

Yoshiaki YOSHINO

Chief Officer at Japan Book Publishers Association

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Yoshiaki YOSHINO

I joined the Japan Book Publishers Association in 2012. Since then, I have been responsible for international relations and have served on the Committee for Freedom, Ethics, and the Responsibility of Publishers.We monitor trends in restrictions on book sales imposed by local governments (mostly due to explicit content), ensuring that publications are not unjustly restricted from sale. My recent concern is the increase in books that promote discriminatory narratives against minorities—such as non-Japanese residents, people with disabilities, LGBTQ individuals, or those of certain faiths—as well as books that intentionally spread disinformation as a backlash against social movements for inclusion in Japan. While the Japanese Constitution guarantees freedom of expression, the ethics and responsibilities of publishers have become more critical than ever. JBPA is therefore working to strengthen awareness of ethical standards and the responsibilities publishers carry in society.

Zunar (Zulkiflee SM Anwar Haque)

 Independent Political Cartoonist, Malaysia

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Zunar (Zulkiflee SM Anwar Haque)

Zunar’s first cartoon was published when he was 12 years old, in 1974. He has never received a formal education in arts, because he took the science stream. When he failed in UTM, he became a professional cartoonist by joining Gila-Gila, a very popular local cartoon magazine. Now he is an independent cartoonist. With the "How Can I be Neutral, Even My Pen Has a Stand", Zunar exposes corruption through his drawings. He has published 19 books – all banned by the BN's government, under which, he was also nabbed 7 times and was charged with 9 counts under the Sedition Act and slapped with a travel ban. Outside Malaysia, Zunar has received numerous awards, including the "Courage in Editorial Cartooning Award" and the "Cartooning For Peace", which was presented by Kofi Annan. He has also been invited to exhibit his works and give talks at several universities including Oxford and Harvard. Zunar was also invited to give a speech at the United Nations in Geneva, and at several cartoonist conventions in Washington, Paris, Bilbao, London, Amsterdam and Berlin.