Top hot titles at London Book Fair

Non-fiction books dominated the hottest deals done at the London Book Fair, reported The Bookseller on April 26. Among the top titles due out following deals done at the fair, which ran April 19-21, are a biography of musician Dave Grohl, Susan Boyle's memoir, and novels by Shutter Island author Dennis Lehane.

After analyzing the 36 deals made in London, The Bookseller reports that the hottest non-fiction deals were for This is a Call: The Life and Times of Dave Grohl, a new book by historian Max Hastings, and a memoir by singer and reality-TV star Susan Boyle. Topping fiction deals are When God was a Rabbit and two new titles by Dennis Lehane.

Full report here Hindustan Times

Books for all

Professor Bipan Chandra, a renowned historian and a Padma Bhushan awardee, is the Chairman of the National Book Trust, India (NBT). In this interview, he talks about the NBT’s importance and his plans to a promote book-reading culture.

The NBT has been organising the country’s biggest book fair for many years now. Could you tell us about the books you showcased?
The New Delhi World Book Fair is the largest fair in the Afro-Asian region. This time more than 1,200 publishers, from 15 countries, participated. Our special pavilion this year displayed books on sports in Indian and foreign languages, which was aimed at bringing into focus the Commonwealth Games to be organised in New Delhi in October 2010. The other attractions were the children’s and youth pavilions and an exhibit of books on and by Jawaharlal Nehru. Workshops, seminars and book releases were also organised. The fair helps publishers to sell books on a large scale. Bibliophiles get to buy books in several languages on varied subjects.

What other events does the NBT organise to promote a culture of reading books?
The NBT also organises mobile exhibitions, seminars, workshops and festivals at the regional and national levels. It participates in international fairs to promote Indian literature. In 2008-09, the NBT participated in seven international book fairs. India was the guest of honour at the 22nd Moscow International Book Fair. Thirteen litterateurs representing many Indian languages participated in the fair.

At the London Book Fair, organised in April 2009, the NBT was a partner. The aim was to promote its golden jubilee post-Independence project of publishing anthologies of poetry, short stories and plays in major Indian languages. We have approached international publishers who are interested in translating our books and to promote our International Rights Catalogue of the Works.

Full interview here Frontline

Lankan book stall at London Book Fair

Latest books from Sri Lanka will be on display at the London Book fair at Earl's Court from April 19, 2010 on a joint initiative of The Booksellers and Importers Association of Ceylon and the Sri Lanka Book Publishers' Association.

More than 200 books recently published in Sri Lanka will be available at the prestigious fair, which will be held from 19th to 21st April. Booksellers, Librarians and professionals from around the world visit this Fair, which is a very important literary event at which the latest books from around the world are on display and available for orders.

This is the first time that the two premier organisations associated with Sri Lanka's publishing and retail trade are working together to promote Sri Lankan books at the London Book Fair. In addition to books in English, some of the latest Sinhala and Tamil books will also be available at the Fair. A special 68 page publication, Books in print in Sri Lanka 2010, with colour images of the books, has been specially prepared for the event.

Full report here Daily Mirror

London Book Fair opens in subdued mood

Flights to the UK remain grounded, as the international book community gathered at Earls Court for the 39th London Book Fair on what was described by one exhibitor as a "subdued" opening morning (19th April).

Many early attendees thought that at least half of their meetings would be cancelled, with attendance from some areas of the world down by as much as 90%. The agents centre was described in one of the numerous tweets about the fair as "very thin on the ground". Some suggested that BEA or the Frankfurt Book Fair would now have to "take up the slack" of lost business, though others remained optimistic about meetings that could come from freed-up diaries.

One high profile casualty was former prime minister Tony Blair. Random House, which publishes Blair's memoirs this autumn, had organised for the former PM to meet all his international publishers at an event this evening at Kensington Roof Gardens, followed by a dinner with customers. But Blair is in the Middle East and unable to get a flight back to the UK. Cornerstone publicity director Charlotte Bush said: "It is very unfortunate and disappointing. We have a couple of new dates and are looking to reschedule."

Full report here Bookseller.com

Sankar is a star at London

47 years after he created a sensation with his best-selling novel about a hotel in his native Kolkata, Bengali writer Sankar is kicking up a literary storm in the West, says an IANS report. Sankar, whose real name is Mani Sankar Mukherjee, has turned out to be the surprise triumph of the ongoing London Book Fair - feted by academics, lauded by reviewers and mobbed by fans.

From heavyweights such as Vikram Seth to relative unknowns, Sankar’s admirers have lined up to be photographed with him. At age 75, Sankar couldn’t be a happier man today.

His 1962 novel Chowringhee has been translated into dozens of Indian languages, sold hundreds of thousands of copies in India and Bangladesh and made into a film that is a Bengali cine-classic.
But for all his success in India, he has been a virtual unknown in the West. “For 47 years I had this typically Bengali arrogance about me. ‘Let them come to me,’ I said, ‘I won’t go to them’,” Sankar told IANS.

“That is what happened. And now I feel relaxed. You know, it’s been worth the wait,” said Sankar with a broad smile.
Read full story here

US-based Indian author debuts with record advance

Sarita Mandanna, a US-based Indian author, has created ripples in the publishing world as her Tiger Hills has received the largest advance Penguin India house has so far paid for a debut novel, says a IANS report. David Godwin Associates Ltd., the Britain-based literary agency, has sold “Tiger Hills” to Penguin Books-India for an undisclosed amount.

David Godwin Associates spokesperson Sophie Hoult refused to divulge the exact amount but said the deal was in seven figures. Hoult said Tiger Hills, “a sweeping popular novel set in India between 1878 and the Second World War, was a cross between an Indian version of The Thornbirds and Gone with the Wind”.

Penguin Books-India in New Delhi confirmed they had the book. “We are every excited about it,” Hemali Sodhi, general manager of Penguin Books-India’s marketing department, told IANS Tuesday. “It is a sweeping popular narrative which also has elements of romance in it. Her style of writing is wonderful and the manuscript has been creating a flutter ever since it came to us. The whole period sweep of the book makes it a page-turner,” Sodhi said.

She, however, refused to comment on the exact amount of the advance paid to the author.
Mandanna, an investment banker, works for a large corporate house in New York. She would make a public appearance at the ongoing London Book Fair.

Publishing industry growing at 30 pc every year

Describing country's publishing industry as vibrant, the Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Shiv Shankar Mukherjee said it is growing at an impressive rate of 30 per cent every year, according to a PTI report.

"We come out with about 70,000 titles every year," Mukherjee said at a reception he hosted at India House in the honour of leading writers and publishers on the eve of the three-day London Book Fair, which focuses on India at the Earl's Court.
Prominent among those present on the occassion included economist and author Lord Meghnad Desai, playwright, actor and filmamaker Girish Karnad, Bollywood actress Shabana Azmi and her lyricist husband Javed Akhtar, Information Technology czar and author Nandan Nilekani and author Vikram Seth.

The High Commissioner noted that 30 per cent of titles brought out in India were in English and the rest in Indian languages. "There is tremendous amount of talent in our country," he said.
Over 50 authors and 90 publishing houses from India are participating in the Book Fair.

Mukherjee, while launching a Amit Gupta's latest book Indian by Choice, said "it was a personal pleasure to launch Amit's book as he was my deputy when I was heading the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) in New Delhi."

London Book Fair opens amid optimistic buzz

Earl's Court underground station was jam-packed this morning, as much of the UK's – and the world's – publishing industry attempts to make their way into the exhibition centre, clutching or dragging armloads of books, diaries weighed down with back-to-back appointments. It's the start of the yearly rights trading extravaganza which is the London Book Fair, and although the global downturn has affected exhibitor attendance somewhat, the crowds milling around the entrance and pouring into the aisles seem as busy as ever, and the flood of new book deals struck just before and during the fair as overwhelming. A Guardian report.

With India the focus country for the fair this year, a host of big names are scheduled to attend, from Vikram Seth to Amartya Sen, Amit Chaudhuri and Daljit Nagra. Fourteen of India's official languages are represented by the 50-plus authors in attendance, and around 90 Indian publishers will be showcasing their books to an international community – more than 54 countries are represented at the fair – keen to find the next bestseller from the subcontinent.

For full article, click here

In search of India

The theme of the London book fair this year is Indian writing, writes Amit Chaudhuri in the Guardian. Vikram Seth, Amartya Sen, William Dalrymple and other writers in frequent circulation in this country are going to be joined by writers - K Satchidanandan, Javed Akhtar - distinguished or popular on their own terrain but less known here, for five days of discussions and celebrations. Something like this happened in 2006 to the Frankfurt book fair, when planeloads of Indian novelists and poets descended on the Intercontinental Hotel, waved to each other over breakfast, and then read from their work to courteous audiences in the afternoons and evenings.

The theme then, too, was India; and the "idea of India" acted as a catalyst to a process that might have already begun, but received, at that moment, a recognisable impetus - the confluence, in one place, of literary and intellectual dialogue with what is basically business activity, each bringing magic and movement to the other. The India-themed Paris book fair followed swiftly.

For full story, clIck here

Wisdom Tree hope to make a splash in London

Wisdom Tree is exhibiting at the London Book fair and have organised book launches of Indian by Choice on 19th April at the Indian High Commissioner's residence and Indian Saris and Indian Birds in Focus on 20th April at the Nehru Centre.

The Indian Saris launch will also see a panel discussion where scholars from UK would participate, the invite is attached for reference. Wisdom Tree has also placed an advertisement in the prestigious Bookseller magazine.

Indian publishers hope to strike it big in London

The British Council on April 9 yet again saw the organisers of the London Book Fair call on the press to spread their message of India being the focus country this year. India is the focus country this year, and the organisers are hoping their will be some interest in Indian books, and not just literature in the light of both India being the flavour of the season, as well as in a way rescuing the beleaguered western publishing industry.

Alistair Burtenshaw had visited India to drum up support earlier in the year, both among the publishers and the media. The fair is to be held from April 20-22 and at this time, 94 Indian publishers are already signed up, informs Sujata Sen of the British Council.

The London Book Fair is one of the largest book fairs in the world, and is especially known for its rights section, which is touted to be the largest in the world.

51 Indian authors are slated to appear. 40 odd events will see writers from 14 Indian languages participate.

For a fresh look

For the publishing troubled, the focus on India seems to be an ongoing story. Frankfurt and Paris had the spotlight on India last year, and London follows is following it up with an ambitious line –up of India centric events at London this year.

The London Book Fair, on at the British capital’s Earls Court from April 20-22 this year, is focusing on India as an emerging market and literary hub. This trade fair will look at not only English writing from the south Asian nation but also other vernacular languages, Alistair Burtenshaw, group exhibition director of the event, says during a recent visit to India to promote the fair.

Burtenshaw admits that the global publishing industry is reeling at the moment. But he is confident of the rebound for the sector as well. “Publishing is a very forward looking industry,” he says. “Even in a challenging economic environment, they are going to look ahead. Out industry relies on great writing, and that is not going to stop.”

The London Book Fair, part of Reed Exhibitions, is one of the largest trade fairs in the world for the sector. While leading publishers, distributors, exporters, agents and writers are present, since 2004, each year, the fair has also selected a ‘market focus’ country. A major area where Burtenshaw hopes LBF will see activity is the sale of copyrights, especially for new authors. While Indian literature has already made deep inroads in the western markets, Burtenshaw feels the fair will help the industry look at India through fresh eyes.

The fair sees about 75-100 seminars over three days and usually draws about 25,000 attendees. Last year, there were about 1,800 exhibitors, from 36 countries and 413 companies. This year, publishers, booksellers and industry representatives from 67 countries will be present at the fair. The growth of the LBF in recent years has also meant the fair has a more international flavour, with about half the exhibitors coming from overseas.

About 45 writers, including major names like Vikram Seth, Amit Chaudhuri, Anita Nair, Javed Akhtar, Amartya Sen and Ramchandra Guha are among the writers scheduled to attend the fair. Already 78 Indian exhibitors have signed up, far exceeding expectations, says Burtenshaw. About 40 cultural events, including seminars and workshops, are planned. “It will help Indian publishers to sell rights of works by Indian authors to other markets,” he says.

The fair aims to focus on different aspects of Indian publishing. With India already the world’s third-largest producer of English language titles, and a still growing economy compared to negative growth rates in most of the OECD economies, the country offers considerable marketing opportunities.

“This will see writing not only from Indians writing in English, but also from the other languages spoken in the country,” says Burtenshaw. The British Council is putting together the programmes, and Sujata Sen, Director, East India, British Council, points out, there are 32 languages in India with over a million speakers, and there is great scope for translation. She points to Sahitya Akademi’s programme, and hopes more translation rights will be discussed.
And the events will not be limited to LBF alone but will also form part of the Edinburgh, hay, Norwich and Newcastle literature festivals. As part of the build up, the Kolkata Book Fair this had its spotlight on Scottish writers, and BCL organized about 50 events during the festival, points out Sen. “It is all about long term sustainability and engagement, adds Burtenshaw. “The rationale is to create greater business opportunities.

With a going rate of £254 per square metre to rent place at the fair, participation does not come chap. But Capexil is giving financial assistance to participants. LBF has also been helping out potential Indian exhibitors through workshops and seminars, conducting workshops for agents on how they can make a book successful, on participation guidelines, how to set up appointments, which titles to promote, how to present stands, preparing the right publicity material etc. While many of the subsidiaries of international publishing houses have been participating in their global stands, many have also taken stands in the India pavilion, Among the participants from India at the fair are Roli, Rupa, Macmillan India, Mapin, Niyogi, OUP India, Penguin India, Sterling, UBSPD, Zubaan, Wisdom Tree, Ratna Sagar, Research Press, Pearson Education, Palgrave Macmillan, McGraw Hill, IBH, Cambridge University Press India besides a host of printers.

Whether the fair is able to achieve its goals remains to be seen, but what already seems guaranteed is the greater visibility of the India in one of world’s global financial capitals desperately in need of some succour.

India focus at London Book Fair

More than 45 leading Indian writers, translators, critics, academics and industry professionals will be coming to the London Book Fair, to take part in a varied programme of events based on themes of cultural and linguistic diversity, designed to enable better market understanding through contemporary literature between India and the UK. This is the first time such a wide variety of authors has been showcased in this way, and the event will bring together the largest representation of Indian writers ever assembled at a publishing trade show.

Writers including Javed Akhtar, Amit Chaudhuri, Namdeo Dhasal, Ramachandra Guha, Jaishree Misra, Daljit Nagra, Anita Nair, Bhalchandra Nemade, Nandan Nilekani, K Satchidanandan, Shankar, Vikram Seth and Pavan K Varma will take part in a series of ten seminars and readings at the Fair, as well as additional events in London and around the UK. These events will highlight the richness and diversity of contemporary Indian literature, with over 15 Indian languages represented across a total of 40 events.

The British Council is hosting the following seminars:
- Imagining India: the world of fiction
- Home and the world
- Literature of identity
- Literature of conflict
- India writes
- India translated
- Literature of the cinema
- Bestsellers and popular writing
- Literature of ideas
- Battle for the Indian reader

Susie Nicklin, Director Literature, British Council, said: “Many people in the UK feel they know India and her writers, which is not surprising given their justified success in this country; many readers in India feel they are au fait with British contemporary literature. In fact, all of us will benefit hugely from this opportunity — a major part of an ongoing British Council programme – to discover more about each other’s literary cultures and societies.”