The Association of American Publishers has awarded its 2025 International Freedom to Publish Award to Freedom Letters, a Russian- and Ukrainian-language publisher operating largely in exile.
The award recognizes Freedom Letters founder Georgy Urushadze, who was previously a political journalist and cofounder of the Moscow publishing house Palmira. He fled Russia in 2022 after being designated a "foreign agent" by the Russian government following his public resignation from leadership positions at the country's three main literary prizes in protest of the invasion of Ukraine. The AAP recognition highlights a publishing operation that has built a substantial catalog while operating under extraordinary constraints: Freedom Letters is banned in Russia, its website is blocked by Russian authorities, and several of its authors are currently imprisoned or facing criminal charges.
"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," said AAP CEO Maria Pallante.
The scale of Freedom Letters' operation is notable for an exile publisher. In two and a half years, it has published 236 books by 300 authors, supported by a team of 40 volunteers working across multiple countries including the U.K., Latvia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and even within Russia itself, albeit surreptitiously.
"I am deeply honored to accept this award on behalf of our team of volunteers and authors," Urushadze said. "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."
Freedom Letters focuses on Ukrainian- and Russian-language works of literature and anti-war prose, including books banned by the Russian government, books in support of persecuted groups, and works authored by those under threat. The catalog includes politically sensitive titles that have drawn direct government retaliation, including Last But Not Final Words, a compilation of closing courtroom statements from Russian political prisoners dedicated to Alexei Navalny; VZ by Dmitry Bykov, a novel about Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky; and Vladimir Sorokin's The Legacy, set in the aftermath of a nuclear war.
Other titles include My Prison Trip, the autobiography of artist Sasha Skochilenko, who was jailed for protesting the current war in Ukraine; Tuaregs, a collection of dramatic works by Svetlana Petriichuk, who is currently serving a six-year prison sentence; and Notes from the Dark by political prisoner Ilya Shakursky.
The AAP's International Freedom to Publish Award, established in 2002, includes a cash prize and was created in honor of Jeri Laber, a cofounder of Human Rights Watch and founding member of AAP's Freedom to Publish Committee. Previous recipients include Januškevič Publishing House, a Belarusian publisher now operating from Poland; Venezuela-based Editorial Dahbar in 2022; and Guatemala-based F&G Editores.
Urushadze noted that the award provides "crucially important encouragement and inspiration that will help us continue our work," adding that the publisher's thoughts remain "with the many authors who are currently detained or working in dangerous circumstances."
