Who Are We?

 Program Objectives:
* Increasing the mutual cooperation of the world publishers, establishing new commercial relations in the sector, following the sectoral developments in the field of publishing,
* Contributing indirectly to the development of many sub-sectors, especially copyright agencies, editors, translators, illustrators, publishers, retailers, distributors and printing presses,
* Providing a suitable environment for publishers to talk business and exchange copyrights, and making it a center that they will visit every year,
* By making Istanbul an actor in copyright markets, making Istanbul a sustainable and professional royalty market with its own dynamics.

At the end of the Istanbul 1st Publishing Professional Meetings, which was held for the first time on March 3-8, 2016 with 17 participants from 9 different countries, a total of 175 copyright of the books were exchanged.

The 2nd Istanbul Fellowship Program took place between 23 – 28 February 2017. At the end of the Istanbul Fellowship Program, in which 30 publishers from 21 countries participated, 439 copyrights of the books were sold.

209 publishers from 66 countries participated in the 3rd Istanbul Fellowship program held between 9-10-11 March 2018 and more than 1700 interviews were held. As a result of the negotiations, the number of books for which copyright was sold was 533.

In the fourth program held on 26-27-28 February 2019; 300 participants from 72 countries took part. At the end of the program, more than 2700 bilateral meetings took place and more than 1000 copyright pre-agreements were signed.

Applications from 780 publishers from 98 countries were received for the 5th Istanbul Fellowship Program, which was held between 3-4-5 March 2020. In the program; 2039 bilateral meetings were held with a total of 245 participants, 98 of which were selected from within the country and 147 of which were foreign publishers from 53 countries, and nearly 1,000 preliminary copyright agreements were made. Due to the pandemic, it was the first and last fellowship program in the field of international publishing in 2020.

The 6th edition of the program, which brings foreign publishers to Istanbul to conduct copyright and translation negotiations every year, was held in a hybrid model on 09-10-11 March 2021, taking into account the pandemic conditions. While 869 publisher applications from 120 countries were made to the program this year, 359 publishers from 60 countries were accepted to participate in the program as a result of the evaluation made by the Istanbul Publishing Fellowship Coordination Board. At the end of the program, more than 3,000 bilateral meetings were held, more than 1300 preliminary copyright agreements were signed.

One of the two biggest innovations brought by the 6th Istanbul Publishing Fellowship Program was the 'focus country' events, in which the publishing and literature of a country would be centered and thematically treated. : The second major innovation is the Istanbul Copyright Awards, which are given to encourage the exchange of copyrights from Turkish to foreign languages, to contribute to the development of the sector, to cultural cooperation and promotion, to encourage copyright studies and to reward achievements. At the same time, a No to Pirate Book painting competition was organized for middle school students.

Focus Country: Azerbaijan was chosen as the focus country of the program. A participation was prepared on the basis of the studies carried out between the authorities of the two countries on the subject, strengthening the broadcasting ties and promoting Azerbaijan to the world publishers. Activities were held with the focus on Azerbaijani publishing and literature. Azerbaijani publishers, poets and writers participated in the program, a mini concert with Azerbaijani music and treats related to national tastes were presented to the participants.

Copyright Awards: Istanbul copyright awards are designed for foreign publishing houses that contribute to the translation of the unique intellectual, artistic and cultural production of the Turkish publishing industry into other languages and to the promotion of these works worldwide. It is aimed to increase awareness by promoting the development of the sector, cultural cooperation with other countries and Turkish broadcasting 52 publishing houses from 26 countries applied to the Istanbul Copyright Awards with 661 books. Among the intense applications, the winners were given their awards with a well-attended award ceremony.

The 7th Istanbul Publishing Fellowship Program took place between 8-10 March 2022. Applications from 1104 publishers from 105 countries were received for the 7th Istanbul Publishing Fellowship Program. In the program; more than 5000 bilateral meetings were held and more than 3500 agreements were signed with a total of 555 participants from 72 countries. 

Hungary was the focus country of this year. Focus country publishers showed great interest in 7th İstanbul Publishing Fellowship Program. Moreover 86 publishing houses from 42 countries with 2,232 books participated in the Istanbul Copyright Awards, which was held for the second time this year.

Istanbul is taking firm steps towards becoming a global copyright market with the “8th International Istanbul Publishing Professional Meetings”. The program will be held on 6-7-8 June 2023 through a mixture of live and online events. This year the organization part of the program will be carried out with the support of Introtema Agency, one of the biggest copyright agencies in Türkiye. 

This year the guest of honor of the 8th IPF is Uzbekistan. At the end of the program, Uzbekistan will hand over the flag of focus country to Mexico for the 9th IPF in 2024. Held for the first time in 2021, Istanbul Copyright Awards is designed for foreign publishers that contribute to the translation of the unique intellectual, artistic and cultural production of the Turkish publishing industry into other languages and to the promotion of these works worldwide. It is aimed to support the copyright sales of Turkish publications and to increase the awareness of the Turkish publishing sector and to develop cultural cooperation with other countries. This year, again, Istanbul Copyright Awards and Focus Country events will take place under the Istanbul Publishing Fellowship brand.