A book throbs with Chennai

With the air in the city still lively with events, anecdotes and history of the city as part of Madras Week celebrations, here comes a book pulsating with Chennai. The Elliots Beach, Chennai Zoo, Madras Museum and other descriptions came alive here on Thursday when actor Dhritiman Chatterjee read excerpts from Tulsi Badrinath's book Man of a Thousand Chances.

The book, published by Hachette, revolves around an otherwise honest Harihar who steals a rare gold coin minted by Mughal Emperor Jahangir from the museum to meet his daughter's wedding expense, with the intention of returning it. But, when Harihar finds himself in a position to redeem it, he learns that it has been melted by the pawnbroker.

Cultural activist Ranvir Shah interspersed the reading with questions for the author. Replying to a query on choosing Elliots Beach, the author said those of us who live near the beach take it for granted. “But it actually opens up the city with the snatches of conversation… I always wanted to write a story where you never know the beginning or end, but conjures up a parallel universe,” said Ms. Badrinath, whose first novel ‘Meeting Lives' was published in 2008.

Full report here Hindu

Storming the world stage

Storming the World Stage:
The Story of Lashkar-e-Taiba
Stephen Tankel
Hachette India
Rs 550 pp 385

A few months after the 9/11 attacks, a French convert to Islam named Willie Brigitte attended a terrorist training camp in the mountains of Pakistan. His fellow recruits were Pakistanis and Afghans, as well as men from Somalia, Britain and the Gulf states. The camp was run by the terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), but some of the instructors were Pakistani soldiers on detachment, and military material was dropped from army helicopters.

Several times, officials came to the camp to check that no foreign jihadis were present. When this happened, Brigitte and the other itinerant foreigners would be tipped off in advance and hide out in the woods surrounding the camp.

When LeT was finally banned in 2002 under American pressure, it had already shifted its financial assets into a charitable trust at the instigation of the ISI, the Pakistani intelligence. Its military wing would only be used for operations against India in Kashmir — which was permitted. Yet before long they were organising other terror attacks, including the 2008 massacre in Mumbai that killed 166 people.

In Storming the World Stage, Stephen Tankel provides the most detailed and impressive account yet of the development of this organisation, created initially under Pakistan’s aegis but now increasingly a thorn in its side. It began as an outfit in the anti-Soviet campaign in Afghanistan in the early 1980s and, after many splits, became a significant force in Pakistan. Because it followed the Ahl-e-Hadith (a comparatively small school or sect which wants a pristine version of Islam) the ISI thought it would be a more pliant proxy than some other more mainstream militant groups. As part of this arrangement, LeT had to swear never to turn its guns on the Pakistani state.

Full review here Hindustan Times

‘It was fun to create a new identity'

In India for the launch of the second book in the Empire of the Moghul series, author Diana Preston - one half of Alex Rutherford- holds forth on psuedonyms, India and the perils of research trips.

When the first book in the Empire of the Moghul series, Raiders from the North, came out, the first thing I did was to check the back flap for more information on the author. Nothing except a vague phrase “Alex Rutherford lives in London”. A Google search revealed that Alex Rutherford was actually the husband-wife team of Michael and Diana Preston and that Empire of the Moghul series was their first stab at historical fiction.

Other books as co-authors include A Pirate of Exquisite Mind (on the English buccaneer, sea captain, author and scientific observer William Dampier), Cleopatra and Antony and two books on the Taj Mahal (A Teardrop on the Cheek of Time and Taj Mahal).

Diana also has The Road to Culloden Moor (on Bonnie Prince Charlie); A First Rate Tragedy (on Robert Scott and his ill-fated expedition to the Antarctic), The Boxer Rebellion (on China's war against foreigners in 1900) and Lusitania (on the 1915 sinking of the Lusitania), and Before the Fallout (from Marie Curie to the bombing of Hiroshima) to her credit.

Full report here Hindu

On the trail of the great Mughals

The readers who enjoyed Alex Rutherford’s Raiders of the North, a work of historical fiction on Babur, would probably have conjured up an idea of what the author might look like. But few would have known that Alex Rutherford is actually the pen name for the husband-wife team of Diana and Michael Preston, who have authored several books of non-fiction, including one on the Taj Mahal. They were both in Delhi for the launch of the second book of their quintet on the Mughal emperors. Excerpts from an interview with Diana Preston.

Why the pseudonym Alex Rutherford? 
We decided to have a pseudonym on the advice of agents and publishers. They said that we’ve spent the last decade writing non-fiction books and if we were to have a change in direction writing historical fiction, to avoid confusing readers we should find a new name. They also seemed keen that it should be a single rather than a double name. We thought we could get around that by having an androgynous first name. So we chose Alex. And then we thought of something that would go nicely with that and would sound quite robust. We chose Rutherford because we are both admirers of Ernest Rutherford, the New Zealand scientist. I’m afraid we stole his surname.

Full interview here TOI Crest

Don't like the read? Get your money back

The red sticker says "Love it or your money back." Sounds faintly like a threat but it's actually a promise. The book on which the sticker appears can be returned with receipt and a refund claimed if the reader doesn't like it. The first deal of its kind in India, it is being offered by publishers Hachette India on Krishan Pratap Singh's Delhi Durbar.

The Publisher's Promise is singularly daring. And it smacks of over-confidence. But Singh, 34, is nonchalant. "It's the height of arrogance to write a book in the first place," he says laughing, "And if you're going to chicken out at the end, there's no point to this," he says. Plus, he thinks it a good marketing strategy.

Anup Bamhi of Khan Market bookstore, Faqir Chand, agrees. "It's something unusual. People may buy for the heck of it. Then it's discussed among friends." Faqir Chand has sold 35 copies since its release on March 1 and none have been returned. "People like it. Or they are embarrassed to return a Rs 195 copy," says Bamhi chuckling. More seriously, he argues that people may have considered recouping the amount if the title was, say, for Rs 795.

Full report here The Times of India

Coming of age

Indian publishing boasts of a thriving children’s market, but it has remained limited in scope...

Worldwide, readers of young adult (YA) fiction have never had it so good. That trend is now gathering steam in India. Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, House of Night, Twilight, Princess Diaries — young adult (YA) readers have never had it so good. But while shelves overflow with YA books of every genre, if you go looking for home-grown fare, the view is rather more dismal.

Indian publishing boasts of a thriving children’s market, but it has remained limited in scope. Classics, folk tales and mythology have been rehashed and regurgitated innumerable times, suiting both publishers who are largely content to stick with the tried and tested, and parents who decide what children ought to read. And while there is a fair amount of original writing for younger children, it is slim pickings in the YA segment. In fact, YA itself is a category difficult to pin down, more so since young people trying to find their place in the larger scheme of things are near impossible to slot into convenient “types”. One thing is clear: while the term might be “a snappy shorthand for a global phenomenon”, as Anita Roy of the YA publisher Young Zubaan puts it, there’s no doubt that pre-20 age group is hungry for good literature.

Globally, the crossover market to which YA belongs, comprising books that appeal to youngsters as well as adults, has taken off in a big way. The trend has not escaped the notice of Indian publishers. So far only a handful — Young Zubaan, Puffin, Hachette, Scholastic and HarperCollins, to name a few — are actively exploring it, but it is early days yet.

In India YA publishing has gotten the cold shoulder. A well-rounded exploration of adolescence hasn’t been a strength, says Vatsala Kaul Banerjee, editorial director (children’s and reference books) at Hachette India. Reaching out to this category of readers is not simple: “Ever tried being interesting to a 16-year-old?” she asks. Not easy, since young people are discerning readers.

Full report here Business Standard

Decoding Delhi

Krishan Partap Singh's Delhi Durbar takes a long, deep fictional look at our favourite punching bag — Indian politics

“As economic liberalisation and globalisation transforms the urban landscape of this country, middle class Indians have begun to be smug about the democratic system. We often trumpet the fact that despite the many insurgencies and social conflicts we face, the Army has never been tempted to take over,” says Krishan Partap Singh, author of Delhi Durbar, a book that talks about a power tussle in the heart of the Indian capital, Raisina Hill.

Singh says, “This book talks about the situation in which a retired Army officer becomes President and makes an attempt to overthrow the union cabinet and emerge all powerful, with the help of the Army.”

He adds, “This person asks the country to let him handle things on his own, much like Caesar, and promises to deliver results. The book makes an attempt to understand whether Indians would junk the democratic model and become a military dictatorship.”

Full report here Hindu

Now, buy back for books!

If you do not like this book, return it and you shall get your money back. That’s the promise publisher Hachette India is making with their latest release, Delhi Durbar, a political thriller by Kishan Partap Singh, which is releasing on Wednesday with a launch in the national capital.

This is the first time such a promise is being made by any publisher in India. “In case you want to, you can go back to the retailer and ask for your money back,” says Anurima Roy, Publicity Manager at Hachette India. Just keep the receipt and you can get your money back. The book is modestly priced at Rs 195, and is aimed at the emerging pulp fiction market. “We are building the author as a brand,” says Roy. “We are sure of its success as it is the kind of book that Indians will like. The book will sell if marketed well."

Marketing for publishers looks set to move into a new notch with move by the publisher, which recently declared that in the short span of their existence, they had already become the second largest English publisher in the country after Penguin India.

Delhi Durbar is the second book of a three-part set, called The Raisina Series. Singh had last year released the first book of the series, then called The Road to Raisina, published by HarperCollins India. The rights for which have been bought by Hachette India since then. The third book, The War Ministry is expected by October 2010. The books are set in Lutyens’ Delhi and explore the games India’s political elite play, almost always for personal gain.

Don't like book? Get your money back!

Hachette India is breaking new ground in marketing books in India. It is offering a buy back offer with Krishan Partap Singh's Young Turks and Delhi Durbar!

The books will be released later this month.

These books are the first two of a set of three that, along with The War Ministry (October 2010), form The Raisina Series – three cracking good political novels that unflinchingly examine politics as we Indians play it. Set in the heart of Lutyens’ Delhi – India’s crucible of power and political sleaze – and written with a deep understanding of Indian politics, these books provide the politically informed reader an engaging foray into the functioning of the Indian high office and the politics of personal gain.

About Delhi Durbar:
The world’s largest democracy is poised to become a military dictatorship …
Ex-Army Chief and now President of India, General Dayal defies his rubber-stamp status to take on Prime Minister Yadav, head of the ruling Third Front coalition government, as the fate of India teeters in the balance.
Caught in the crossfire between the two warring leaders, will private banker turned wheeler-dealer Jasjit Singh Sidhu allow the enigmatic Azim Khan and the irrepressible Karan Nehru to arouse his dormant conscience, or will he – a child of the Emergency, born into Delhi’s power elite, brought up in a culture of rampant corruption and self-serving greed – remain true to type.

About Young Turks:
Best Friends Azim Khan and Karan Nehru have been together all their life: first in school and now in politics. Slowly but surely, Azim makes western Uttar Pradesh his electoral fiefdom and begins his journey to becoming the leader of Muslim India while Karan establishes himself as the overlord of eastern Uttar Pradesh and the adjoining states. Together, they carve their spaces in India’s politics, never compromising their friendship, until, finally, as Cabinet Ministers in a shaky coalition government under the Prime-Ministership of the wily former Congressman YK Naidu, their widely differing ideologies and temperaments and the sheer scale of unfolding events, all combine to pit them together in a fierce battle for the highest office…
(First published under the title, The Road to Raisina)

Why Fair is Foul in Kolkata

When the lights went out for two hours on a peak Saturday evening, the International Kolkata Book Fair reached the nadir of its 34-year existence. Three days into the fair and little was in place, not even a back-up lighting plan. Leading up to the fair, booksellers had complained about cramped space, creaking infrastructure and dust in the air, but even when the fair opened on January 27, many of the stalls weren’t ready.

In what has become typical of West Bengal, another of Kolkata’s big-ticket events was being allowed to diminish year-on-year. Once it was the largest retailer book fair in Asia; very soon international publishers will shun it. In fact, many top publishers, having checked out the fair last year, excused themselves quietly this year. Hachette India, HarperCollins, Random House and Kolkata-based Seagull, to name a few, were prominent absentees.

Full report here Indian Express

Hachette India climbs to second place”

Hachette India is beating its own financial expectations, after a strong year of sales has seen it soar into place as the second-largest trade publisher in the country by value terms.

Managing director Thomas Abraham said 2009’s turnover - roughly R270m (£3.6m) - was now the second biggest in India, having surpassed both HarperCollins and Random House. Penguin remains the biggest publisher, having generated a turnover of more than double Hachette's.

“We didn’t expect to be number two after our first full year... We thought we would have a good year, but we expected that to be three years away," said Abraham.“It will take a long time for anyone else to catch up [with Penguin], but we will get there,” he added.

Full report here Bookseller