The nomination period is now open for the 2025 ABC International Excellence Award for Accessible Publishing. The award recognizes one publisher and one project initiative that demonstrate notable contributions to improving the accessibility of e-books and digital publications for individuals who are blind, have low vision, dyslexia, or physical impairments affecting the ability to read print.
Recipients will be announced during the World Blindness Summit, hosted by the World Blind Union, at a gala event scheduled for September 3, 2025, in São Paulo, Brazil.
An expert panel will assess submissions based on criteria including the integration of accessibility features into publishing workflows; efforts to ensure accessible formats are available at or near the time of release; coordination with supply chain partners to retain accessibility through distribution; adoption of innovative practices to advance accessible publishing; and overall impact on individuals with print disabilities.
The award has previously been presented at major international book fairs and conferences. In 2024, it was announced at the International Publishers Association Congress in Mexico. Notable past recipients in the publisher category include Gerbera Ediciones (2024), Bokförlaget Hegas AB (2023), Kogan Page (2022), and Taylor & Francis Group (2021). In the project initiative category, past winners include the Round Table on Information Access for People with Print Disabilities (Australia and New Zealand, 2024), Chetana Charitable Trust (India, 2023), and Ashoka Bandula Weerawardhana (Sri Lanka, 2022).
Applications must be submitted by July 14, 2025, using the official nomination form, available in English, French, and Spanish. Submissions should be sent to Accessible.Books@wipo.int.
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