FEP elects Polish publisher Sonia Draga, its first female President

[Press release]

From left to right, FEP Vice President Phaedon Kidoniatis, FEP Board Member Barbara Budrich, FEP Treasurer Renate Punka, FEP Director Anne Bergman-Tahon, FEP President Sonia Draga, FEP Board Member Jesper Monthán and FEP Board Member Catherine Blache

Today (5 November), the Federation of European Publishers, meeting for its Autumn General Assembly, elected Sonia Draga as President for 2024-2026. Sonia Draga, a Polish publisher based in Katowice, was elected Vice-President in 2022 and will replace Ricardo Franco Levi.

The General Assembly also elected Vice-President (who will automatically become President in 2026) Phaedon Kidoniatis, a Greek publisher based in Athens. The FEP’s new Treasurer is Latvian publisher from Riga Renate Punka. FEP’s members also elected three Board members: Catherine Blache (Counsellor in the French publisher association, SNE), Barbara Budrich, an academic publisher from Leverkusen (Germany) and Jesper Monthán, Director Nordic Business Development Bonnier Books (Stockholm, Sweden). The Board is elected for two years.

Sonia Draga said “It is a great privilege and honour to have been formally elected as President of FEP. European legislation plays a huge role at national level, and it is key that the voice of European publishers is not only heard but also listened to. We are facing new challenges in our publishing world, with Artificial Intelligence one of the most significant among many. AI is both an opportunity and a threat for our industry and we must tackle it with proper legislation as well as tools to govern it wisely. Together with the Board and all FEP members, we will keep championing the role of publishers. This is what I have been doing for many years both in my home country, Poland, and at European level. I am very much looking forward to continuing to let politicians and Commission officials better understand how we publishers are contributing to society.”

Outgoing President Ricardo Franco Levi remarked: “Without books, democracy is at risk. A book is both a creation of the mind and an industrial product. Politicians need to be reminded of the conditions of business in our sector and how positive policies make the difference. It has been an honour to serve European publishers, and I wish all the best to my successor.”

The General Assembly reviewed files affecting publishers’ business with a special focus on the application of the Deforestation Regulation, which should enter into force on 1st January 2026.

FEP also welcomed its 30th member: the Association of Publishers and Booksellers from Montenegro.

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