US book publishers honor Russian dissident house Freedom Letters

NEW YORK (AP) — The trade group for U.S. book publishers is honoring a dissident Russian house for its battle against censorship and oppression.

The Association of American Publishers announced Friday that it was presenting its annual International Freedom to Publish Award to Freedom Letters and its founder, Georgy Urushadze, a onetime literary prize official in Moscow who fled in 2022 after opposing the Russian invasion of Ukraine and being designated a “foreign agent” by the Russian government.

“Georgy Urushadze has made extraordinary sacrifices in the name of free expression, demonstrated remarkable tenacity in building a thriving publishing house while in exile, and inspired people around the world with his fierce dedication to publishing authors that others have tried to silence,” Maria A. Pallante, the AAP’s president and CEO, said in a statement.

Run in part by dozens of volunteers, Freedom Letters operates out of Ukraine, Latvia, Georgia and other locations, and has released hundreds of works in Russian and Ukrainian by anti-war writers and other opponents of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Notable works include “Last But Not Final Words,” a compilation of statements by Russian political prisoners, and Olga Grebennik’s “The War Diary,” a graphic novel about the Russian invasion.

Freedom Letters is banned in Russia and several of its authors are facing criminal charges. Urushadze has said he is still able to sell books in Russia through online outlets.

“It is no exaggeration to say that today’s award sends a message of hope to all those who believe, as we do, that every book that reaches a reader is proof that stories can survive borders, bans, and fear,” Urushadze said in a statement.

Previous recipients of the publishing award include Editorial Dahbar in Venezuela and NB Publishers in South Africa.