Publisher: Self

On the Net she found a Mumbai publisher that offered to distribute her book and create an online presence for it.

The small religious town of Haridwar has proudly lapped up the attention brought in by the literary efforts of its diminutive but spunky resident Mona Verma. As a child she had been left in her grandparents' care as her parents settled in the UK. The child who was always curious and fond of reading was smothered with the love and affection of the senior couple, though the feeling of being abandoned never did leave her. And when the choice to move to the UK did present itself, she found herself declining it, having finally made peace with her humble but rich existence in India's religious capital, under the watchful and doting eye of the older generation.

Writing was always a cathartic experience. Her grandfather who was not well versed with the Queen's language diligently made his weekly trips to the local railway station, buying all the new English books that the bookseller had stocked up. Mona recalls how he would proudly lug home the latest James Hadley Chase and Harold Robbins for a Class V student, unaware that those were strictly “adult fare”.

Full report here Hindu Business Line

Self published authors get a space at WBF

India's leading self publishing and print on demand company Pothi.com is showcasing self published and independent author's books at its stall in the ongoing 19th World Book Fair. Self Publishing provides an opportunity for hitherto undiscovered authors to showcase their writings to the world without having to go through the tedious process of struggle and rejection by countless editors and publishing houses. However, in the absence of the backing of a publisher for promotion and distribution, independent authors are restricted to selling their books online. This limits the reach of their books to a select few. For the first time in India, Pothi.com is providing a platform for such authors to reach out to the masses during the major book festivals of the country. This will encourage and create opportunities for independent authors in their quest to reach out to a wider readership.

Based in Bangalore, Pothi.com is the leading print on demand backed self publishing company in India. It has published over 300 titles since its inception a little over year and a half ago. The company had also participated in Bangalore Book Festival 2009. Pothi.com has been founded by two IIT Kanpur alumni Abhaya Agarwal and Jaya Jha.

"World Book Fair is a major event happening every two years, which attracts book lovers not only from NCR and nearby regions, but from all over India. The independent authors are seriously hampered by a lack of distribution network to showcase their books. This will be a never-before opportunity for them to reach out to a much wider audience. We are very excited to participate in the fair on behalf of the independent authors." said Abhaya Agarwal who is the co -founder of Pothi.com.

"This is also an opportunity for us to showcase the wonders of Print on Demand (POD) and how it can be used effectively by independent and traditional publishers. With POD, it is possible to print even one copy at a time. Also while printing multiple copies, each copy can be different. It is ideal for printing early copies of the books under preparation, printing limited edition personalized copies, short run reprints and short run first prints of niche books." added Jaya Jha, the other co-founder of the company.

Pothi.com is located at stand number 2S-12, between stall numbers 39 and 40 in Hall 1.