Bodour Al Qasimi is a global leader in the publishing and cultural industries and a passionate advocate for reading and literacy. She is the Chairperson of the Sharjah Book Authority, which manages the Sharjah International Book Fair, the world's largest book fair. Bodour has founded several organizations to boost the UAE's publishing sector, including the Emirates

Publishers Association, the UAE Board on Books for Young People and Knowledge Without Borders. She is also the founder of Kalimat Group, a global publishing and edtech company.

Bodour Al Qasimi served as the International Publishers Association's second-ever female and first-ever Arab President, and she is the founder of PublisHer, a 1,000+ member global community of female publishing leaders. She is a tireless advocate of cultural diversity and inclusion, and her work has helped to transform Sharjah into a global cultural hub.

GeumJoo Lin (인용인, her native Korean name) calls herself a professional Digital Content Specialist (DCS) with technology in her heart and demonstrated career for decades in diverse domains of publishing, edutech, and the content security industry.

At the same time, she has worked across the copyright, licensing, editorial, digital content publishing & distribution to digital watermark and DRM as content protection technology. As a co-founder and managing director at CO.MINT Inc., she is leading three business pillars of rights agency, consulting, and digital content distribution of Korean language ebooks and audiobooks. From 2017 to 2022, GeumJoo Lin led Storytel's audio publishing business in South Korea, and from 2016 to 2017, she performed a pivotal role in making a successful Korean launch of the Harry Potter series in digital ebooks both in Korean and English editions.

During the Frankfurt Book Fair in October 2023, GeumJoo Lin presented the showcase of an AI-based innovative digital service platform, 'MatchWHALE by CO.MINT', to introduce Korean books and trends to publishing professionals and individuals who follow the Korean culture wave. She has contributed most of her expertise from diverse professional experience in the publishing industry to conceptualize MatchWHALE to make it easier to rights matchmaking and digital content distribution at a global scale in Korean language or other native languages. As her continued interest and focus on the development of digital content in the time of the 4th industrial technology such as metaverse, blockchain, A.I. and IoT, she has been following the market and I.T. trend of South Korea and overseas in the content and publishing industry. She became a judge, frequent speaker, lecturer, and writer for Korea's Digital Book Association, KPIPA, and KOCCA of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Korea on the topic of publishing, ebooks, audiobooks, digital content trends, and copyrights in digital environment. She has been invited to speak at global venues such as APA (Audio Publishers Association) and Sharjah International Book Fair in 2022 & 2023, AbuDhabi Book Fair 2023, and Readmagine 2023 in Madrid, Spain. She is studying at Ewha Womans University, the Graduate School of Law, for 'the future of copyright in the era of the 4th industrial Revolution' as an extension of her bachelor's degree in law to solicit the conversation and movement toward the harmonious application of innovation technology and law for our future content industry. In June 2023, she took a key role in holding PublisHer's Seoul Conference during the Seoul International Book Fair to introduce PublisHer into Korea's publishing industry to facilitate and nurture the culture of participation in diversity and gender equality at the global level.

Karine Pansa has dedicated nearly thirty years to the publishing industry, combining business leadership with a commitment to literacy, access to books, and the societal role of publishing. She began her career at the Brazilian Book Chamber (CBL), serving on its Executive Board and later as President, where she led initiatives that strengthened the visibility of Brazilian publishing nationally and internationally.

She went on to serve two terms on the Executive Committee of the International Publishers Association (IPA) before becoming its President, representing publishers from over 80 countries and advocating for copyright, freedom to publish, and access to education. Today, she remains a Board Member of the CBL and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Dorina Nowill Foundation for the Blind, supporting social inclusion for people with visual disabilities.

Karine has been widely recognized for her contributions to global publishing, advancing education and culture, and championing reading as a tool for building more equitable societies.

Lisa Lyons Johnston’s career in the entertainment and publishing industries spans three decades. She has represented Canadian publishing on official cultural trade missions to China and Latin America, is a sought-after speaker at major international book fairs and media industry conferences and is a global champion of the UN Publishers Compact. Lisa’s early experience with a multinational publisher, combined with her track record in television content distribution in New York and Toronto, led to a distinguished career at the helm of Kids Can Press, a leading Canadian children’s publisher that was awarded the Bologna Prize for Best Publisher, North America under her leadership. Recognized with numerous industry awards, Lisa’s board experience and appointments align with her goals to advance literacy and equity for girls and women.

On International Women’s Day in 2002, Nadia Wassef and her sister Hind co-founded Diwan, a corner bookstore in Cairo. Over 23 years, it has grown into Egypt’s leading independent bookstore chain, now encompassing ten branches and its own publishing house, Diwan Publishing.

Nadia’s work as a bookseller and entrepreneur has been featured in The Washington Post, TIME, and Monocle. She has received numerous accolades, including the Woman of the Year Award from UNICEF and Look Magazine in 2022, the Veuve Clicquot Initiative for Economic Development Award in 2011, and recognition by Forbes among the “200 Most Powerful Women in the Middle East” between 2014 and 2016.

She holds three master’s degrees: an M.A. in English and Comparative Literature from the American University in Cairo (1996), an M.A. in Social Anthropology from SOAS, University of London (2000), and an M.A. in Creative Writing from Birkbeck, University of London (2017). Nadia is also the author of Chronicles of a Cairo Bookseller (2021), a memoir translated into 11 languages.

Managing Director and Commercial Lead for India, South Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa at Taylor & Francis Group, Nitasha Devasar is a career academic publisher, she has served two terms as President of the Association of Publishers in India and currently chairs STM India, advocating for standards and excellence in scholarly publishing.

A thought leader in Indian publishing, she is the author of Publishers on Publishing: Inside India’s Book Business (2018), has written over 100 articles, and delivered a 2023 TEDx Talk, Making the Professional, Personal, on the value of publishing. She sits on the Editorial Board of Logos, Journal of the World Publishing Community and was Guest Editor for Looking Back, Looking Forward: 75 Years of Indian Publishing (2023).

Nitasha is actively involved in mentoring programs, including the 1000 Women Leaders Program, PublisHer, and the Women Leadership Forum of Asia, and was recognized as Channel News Asia’s Women of Substance in Asia in 2017.

Perminder Mann has been CEO of Simon & Schuster UK and International since May 2025. Previously, she served as CEO of Bonnier Books UK, where she led the company to significant growth and earned a reputation for digital innovation and inclusive practices. A seasoned publisher, she has helped launch and elevate the careers of numerous celebrated authors.

Mann served as President of the Publishers Association from 2024 to 2025 and continues as an Officer and Council Member. She chairs the board of trustees for Arts Emergency, a mentoring charity, and holds an honorary visiting professorship at City, University of London.

Her work has been recognized by Vogue, which named her one of the 25 women defining Britain in 2025, as well as by The Guardian, Operation Black Vote, and The Bookseller, which lists her among the most influential people in publishing.

Sandra Tamele holds a Bachelor's degree in Architecture but her love for languages and reading spurred her to literary projects. In 2007, she published the first work that she translated and has since translated 21 novels and short story collections written by, among others, Nobel Literature Laureates Wole Soyinka and Naguib Mahfouz. Understanding the importance of translation, in 2015 she started hosting an annual literary translation competition among young Mozambicans which led to the establishment of her publishing house Editora Trinta Zero Nove. Tamele and her publishing house were recipients of the London Book Fair International Excellence for Literary Translation Initiatives Award in 2021, and the BOP Children’s Books Publisher of the Year in 2023. She was the recipient of a PEN Translates Award in 2022 for Tchanaze by Carlos Paradona. Loose Ties, her translation of Yara Monteiro’s novel was longlisted for the Dublin Literary Award in 2023. She was elected the first President of the Mozambican Publishers and Booksellers Association.

Prominent Emirati business leader Asma Al Fahim is CEO of Arabian Publishing Media and Thamania Group, overseeing influential titles such as Villa 88, Madame Arabia. Her publishing ventures have positioned her as a driver of cultural storytelling and innovation in the UAE, while her wider portfolio extends across retail, real estate, and hospitality.

With more than two decades of experience in government, diplomacy, education, and media, she has played a transformative role in shaping the nation’s creative and economic landscape. As Chairperson of the Abu Dhabi Businesswomen Council, she supports over 30,000 women entrepreneurs, advancing female leadership as a cornerstone of national growth. She also serves on the boards of the Abu Dhabi Design Council and Friends of Abu Dhabi Art, strengthening the capital’s cultural influence.

Asma holds degrees from Paris-Sorbonne University and Zayed University, with executive training at Harvard, Sciences Po, and the University of Geneva. Her leadership has earned honors including Woman Entrepreneur of the Year and Entrepreneur of the Year.

Asma Siddiq Al Mutawa is the founder and president of Al Multaqa Literary Salon: a bi-weekly book club for Arab women. The book club is a space for women in the region to discuss both Arab and International literature. Recognized as a member of the UNESCO Book Clubs, Al Multaqa Literary Salon plays an important role as a literary hub for Arab writers and intellectuals in the region. The Salon is far from her only contribution to the culture of the region. She also runs the Education Program at the Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khaled Al Nahyan Cultural Center.

Active in regional aid and development organizations, Asma was an advisor to the UAE Assistant Director General for Culture in UNESCO, is a consultant to the UAE Regional Director of Doctors without Borders and was their regional Goodwill Ambassador. She is a member of the Sorbonne University Friends Committee of Abu Dhabi and the founder of the Friends of Al-Quds University Association. Asma holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the United Arab Emirates and a Master’s in Contemporary Islam from Zayed University.