PublisHer shortlist announced
The PublisHer Excellence Awards released its 2026 shortlist today, spotlighting women driving publishing across editorial, design and leadership — a bellwether for industry recognition this year. The shortlist is already shaping conversations about diversity and visibility in books and graphic novels. (publishingperspectives.com)
PublisHer’s 2026 awards drew 102 nominations from 34 countries, with nominees split by category — 26 for Lifetime Achievement, 53 for Innovation and 23 for Emerging Leader. (womeninpublishing.org) Lifetime Achievement shortlisted figures are Ana María Cabanellas (President & Publisher, Grupo Claridad, Argentina), Orietta Fatucci (Publisher & CEO, Edizioni EL, Italy) and María Esperanza Espinosa Barragán “Peggy” (Director & Publisher, Petra Ediciones, Mexico). (publishingperspectives.com) The Innovation shortlist names Monique Leite (Founder & Director, PlenaVoz, Brazil), Adibah Binti Omar (CEO, Perbadanan Kota Buku, Malaysia) and Kinga Jentetics (CEO & co‑founder, PublishDrive, USA). (publishingperspectives.com) Emerging Leader nominees are Ana María Bermúdez (Penguin Random House, Mexico), Tara Khandelwal (Founder & Managing Director, Bound, India) and Ovueroghene Shalom Shaba (Managing Editor, Krafted, Nigeria). (publishingperspectives.com) An international five‑member jury — Alicia Liu, Maureen Masamba, Mitia Osman, Searsha Sadek and Sevani Matos — will evaluate the shortlists and select the winners. (publishingperspectives.com) PublisHer, founded in 2024 by Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi, released a statement highlighting the shortlist as demonstrating the “staggering breadth of women’s leadership” across publishing disciplines. (publishingperspectives.com) Winners will be announced at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in Bologna, Italy, which takes place April 13–16, 2026. (publishingperspectives.com) PublisHer’s inclusion of Adibah Binti Omar was noted by Malaysian outlets as the first time a Southeast Asian industry figure has been shortlisted for the awards, a milestone highlighted by PKB and regional press. (bernama.com)
