IPA statement on exclusion of bookshops from the German Bookshop Award

The IPA supports the European and International Booksellers Federation, and our member, the German Booksellers and Publishers Association. It is with great surprise and disappointment that, in a country so committed to freedom of expression as Germany, we see three bookstores excluded from consideration on the basis of a procedure designed to protect against terrorism but with no detailed justification which would allow them to contest such allegations. We join calls to the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media to review this decision.

Statements from IPA member, the German Booksellers and Publishers Association here.

Statement from the European and International Booksellers Federation here and below:

The European and International Booksellers Federation (EIBF) strongly supports the German Booksellers and Publisher Association (Börsenverein des Deutchen Buchhandels) in condemning the exclusion of three bookshops from the German Bookshop Award. This decision, made without transparency or due process, undermines the award's integrity and threatens the fundamental values of our industry. Our core concerns regard the following:

• Lack of fair process: The bookshops were excluded without being given a chance to respond to allegations, violating basic principles of fairness.
• Lack of transparency: The opaque 'Haber' procedure lacks clarity and contestability, eroding trust in the entire award system.
• Risk to freedom of expression: Bookshops are essential for cultural diversity and democratic discourse. Exclusions based on political assumptions - without evidence - threaten these fundamental values.

Says Fabian Paagman, EIBF President: "Booksellers serve the public by making a wide spectrum of ideas, perspectives and debates accessible. Through their freedom to curate and offer diverse catalogues, they contribute to a pluralistic cultural landscape and to a well-informed, intellectually curious society. Such openness to ideas and debate is one of the essential foundations of a healthy democratic culture. The presence of particular titles in a bookshop must therefore be understood as part of this broader mission of providing access to knowledge, debate and literature."