November 21, 2023, was the virtual General Assembly of the IPA, during which the results of online elections and membership application decisions were verified. Along with nine new IPA member associations, new members of the Executive, Membership, and Freedom to Publish Committees were named.

A few IPA members who had been involved in its activity for a long time resigned during the elections: After serving on the Committee for Freedom to Publish since 2008, Trasvin Jittidecharak decided not to run for reelection. Myung-hwan Kim also resigned from the Committee, capping his five-year tenure; Giovanni Hoepli’s second term on the Executive Committee came to an end, though he will continue to serve on the Committee; and Joachim Kaufmann resigned from the Committee after six years of skillfully chairing its proceedings. The IPA wishes to thank all four for their knowledgeable and generous contributions to the organization’s work.

During the General Assembly, the IPA also unveiled its newly designed website and shared information about the 2024 International Publishers Congress, scheduled for December 3–6, 2024, in Guadalajara, Mexico.

At the Guadalajara Book Fair in 2023, more details on the IPA Congress and the publication of a global publishing data report will be revealed.

Regarding the membership applications, IPA President Karine Pansa remarked, “It is wonderful to see so many publishers’ associations applying for IPA membership and recognising the value that IPA brings to the international publishing community.” To all of you, a big congratulations on your accepted applications. We are eager to commence our work together.

Regarding the new committee members, IPA Secretary General José Borghino stated, “The members of our committee are what makes IPA tick.” We sincerely appreciate all of their efforts in spreading the word about our publication across the globe. Congratulations to all those who were re-elected, particularly to the Executive, Freedom to Publish, and Membership Committee members Yoshiaki Yoshino, Jaeho Kang, and Ramesh Mittal.

On January 1, 2024, the following will join the IPA as new members:

Temporary participants:

Bulgarian Book Association Bangladesh Publishers & Booksellers Association
Book Development Association of the Philippines, Publishers Association of Tanzania, Book Publishers Association of Malawi, and Cámara Uruguaya del Libro

Patrons: Children’s Book Fair of Bologna
The Philippine Book Publishing Development Federation

Here are the complete election results:

The IPA’s Executive Committee:

Giovanni HOEPLI’s statutory seat is assumed by Carlo Michele OLIVERO (Italy). The statutory seat of the Korean PA was assigned to Iroo Joo (Korea) for an additional three-year term.

The five Director posts that were open were filled by the following candidates:

Kathy BAIL (re-elected, Australia)
Roberto BANCHIK (re-elected, Mexico)
Re-elected is Kenan KOCATÜRK (Turrkiye).Ahmed RASHAD (Egypt, new member)Pedro Sobral, the re-elected Portuguese)

The four vacant seats on the Freedom to Publish Committee have been selected for the following candidates:

Roberto BANCHIK (re-elected, Mexico)
Re-elected is Kristenn EINARSSON of Norway.
Jessica SAENGER (re-elected, Germany)
Yoshiaki Yoshino (Japan, new member)
Furthermore, Jaeho Kang (Korea) was authorized by the General Assembly to succeed Myung-hwan Kim (Korea).

The five open seats on the Membership Committee were filled by the following candidates:

Catherine BLACHE (re-elected, France)
Dante CID (re-elected, Brazil)
Giovanni HOEPLI (re-elected, Italy)
Indian Ramesh Mittal
Maxwell WAHOME (re-elected, Kenya)