Avesta Publishing House, founded in Istanbul in 1995, has published more than 900 titles in several languages, focusing on Kurdish literature and history. The 2026 award marks the first time a publisher outside the United States has received the AAP award twice; Avesta previously won the Freedom to Publish Award in 2005 and was honoured in 2019 by the Turkish Publishers Association in the “Publisher” category of its Freedom of Thought and Expression Awards.
Since 1997, Avesta has operated under hostile conditions, facing lawsuits, harassment and suppression. In 2016 a sabotage attack destroyed over 3,000 books in its Sur/Diyarbakır warehouse and forced the closure of its bookstore. The publisher’s website was blocked in 2023 on unfounded claims of “terrorist propaganda.” Between 2017 and 2025, local courts banned more than 20 works, including “Burhan’s Book: I Left My Soul in That Land,” “Martys, Traitors and Patriots – Kurdistan from the Gulf War to the Present Day,” and “The Daughters of Kobani: A Story of Rebellion, Courage and Justice.”
Maria A. Pallante, President and CEO of the Association of American Publishers, said: “We are moved to celebrate Avesta’s brave, decades‑long struggle because it underscores an essential fact: the battle for free expression is central to freedom more generally but is never truly won. It must be fought over and over, day by day, and decade after decade.” She thanked Avesta’s leadership and team for setting a standard of bravery, stamina and determination.