Love of the land

A historical romance set in colonial Coorg wins its NRI author Sarita Mandanna lavish praise but, asks Rrishi Raote, has she acknowledged all her sources?

Sarita Mandanna’s Tiger Hills was born with a silver spoon in its mouth. Not only was it championed by David Davidar, until recently a big wheel at Penguin, it also won the attention of David Godwin, a top literary agent. UK rights were quickly picked up by Kirsty Dunseath of Weidenfeld & Nicolson, who compared Tiger Hills with Colleen McCullough’s The Thorn Birds and Vikram Seth’s A Suitable Boy. (Early reviewers said its heroine Devi recalled Gone with the Wind’s immortal Scarlett O’Hara.) And in April 2009 Penguin paid a huge sum to acquire India rights to this debut novel. Trade rumour says the sum was around Rs 35 lakh.

What’s more, Mandanna is a young Manhattanite who works in private equity. She comes from a landed family with thousand-year-old roots in Coorg (now Kodagu). The chief characters in her novel are also privileged, from aristocratic families with coffee estates and paddy acres — all of which boosts the story’s “lushness”.

Full report here Business Standard

Such a long journey

Writing your book is just the first step in the journey to becoming an author. Finding the right agent who can market it in the right places and take care of your interests is the more crucial, and difficult, part… almost like finding god...

Having finished your first novel, you have polished it to the best of your abilities, got rave reviews from your peer group of ‘wanna be' authors, and you think the most difficult part of your journey, of becoming an internationally published author is over. But, it is not. Before you seek an international publisher in mature markets like London or New York, you have to find a literary agent. ‘Finding a literary agent is akin to finding God…..if you believe in God,' says Anees Salim, whose novel Tales from a Vending Machine is slated for release by HarperCollins India later this year.

Agrees Vikrant Dutta, whose debut novel Dark Rainbow is soon to be published by an Indian publishing major. He says, “We have heard legends about Arundhati Roy. Ms. Roy submitted her manuscript of The God of Small Things to Pankaj Mishra of Butter Chicken in Ludhiana fame, who, at that time, was an editor with a publishing house. Impressed with Ms. Roy's writing, Mishra sent it to a few agents and editors in London; and David Godwin was one of them. The rest is the history we all know.” Vikrant further adds, “But, everybody may not be as lucky to have a Pankaj Mishra vouch for them. For lesser mortals, it is a long and tiring voyage. I have been striving to get an agent for the last fours year, but with little success. Then one fine day I decided to send my manuscript to Indian Publishers, and was fortunate to get an offer.” But he strongly feels that to sustain a long-term writing career, one must find an agent.

Full report here Hindu

New prize richer than Asian Booker

You know the publishing industry has arrived when it boasts a lucrative, international prize. A new prize for South Asian Literature, instituted in January this year, is open for entries. The prize money is not a sum to sneeze at: $50,000. The reward is considerably bigger than what the Man Asia Literary Prize (or Asian Booker) offers: $30,000.

The award will “recognize writers of any ethnicity writing about South Asia and its diaspora”. You need not belong to South Asia, only write on it. “The prize has porous literary borders,” observes Namita Gokhale, director of the Jaipur Literature Festival, “the world we are living in is the world of the internet. You shouldn’t need a passport to write a book, to win a prize.”

Its global scope is evident from the advisory board that includes Lord Meghnad Desai, journalist Tina Brown, Michael Worton of University College, London, writer Nayantara Sehgal, writer-publisher Urvashi Butalia, publisher-turned-literary agent David Godwin and journalist MJ Akbar. They will select the five-member jury to be in place by end April, with April 24 as last date for entries. Named DSC Prize for South Asian Literature, the prize is being sponsored by construction company DSC Limited, who also fund the Lit Fest.

Full report here Times of India 

Jaipur fest names committee for fiction prize

After weeks of anticipation DSC Ltd on Tuesday, March 23, announced the Advisory Committee for the recently launched DSC Prize for South Asian Literature, which now opens up the registration procedure for entries. The first winner of this prestigious US $50,000 prize will be announced in January, 2011. The prize aims to commemorate fiction writers from across the globe writing about South Asia or its people.

The Advisory Committee of the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature comprises reputed personalities from the world of literature. It represents a wide canvas of experience and a judicious mix in terms of gender, geographies and expertise. The 10-member committee includes:

    * David Godwin, publisher and literary agent (UK)
    * Lord Meghnad Desai, eminent writer and Professor Emeritus, London School of Economics (India, UK)
    * Michael Worton, Vice Provost, University College London (UK)
    * MJ Akbar, distinguished editor and author (India)
    * Nayantara Sahgal, author (India)
    * Surina Narula, businesswoman and fundraiser (NRI,UK)
    * Senath Walter Perera, specialist on Sri Lankan writing in English (Sri Lanka)
    * Tina Brown, Editor and founder of the Daily Beast (US)
    * Urvashi Butalia,  publisher and cofounder of Kali for Women (India)
    * William Dalrymple, author (UK)

Sharing his point of view, Mr Manhad Narula, Director DSC and Member of the DSC Prize Steering Committee said “The setting up of the Advisory Committee is a step forward to recognise the immense pool of talent writing about the South Asian region through the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature. We hope that our efforts will encourage new and emerging writers to showcase their work and further enrich the literary heritage of the South Asian region. We would like to thank all the eminent advisory committee members for their assistance in supporting our efforts.

On the occasion Urvashi Butalia, Member Advisory Committee, the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature said “It is a privilege to be associated with a prize which aims to recognise the contribution to South Asian literature. Apart from guiding the prize process, the key role of the Advisory Committee will be to nominate and help select the Judging Panel. We are looking forward to participation from the writers and publishers. We also believe that this prize will help in setting a benchmark for South Asian Literature.”

The judging panel will comprise persons of eminence in literature, arts and culture. The winner will be announced on the final day of the DSC Jaipur Literature Festival in January, 2011.

Full details of the Advisory Committee are available on the website www.dscprize.com. It also outlines the registration procedure whereby publishers can log on to the website and download the entry form for their entries to reach the DSC Prize Secretariat by April 24, 2010.