Blogs and Articles
Comments and posts on trends and events in the book industry.
‘Not just content, but also best practices and ideas’
Source: Daily News and Analysis (DNA)
About 18 months ago, Harvard Business Publishing (HBP), a wholly owned subsidiary of Harvard University, set up its India office, which incidentally, is its first international subsidiary. India was chosen due to its vibrant and fast growing market and being present here would help engage with corporates, business schools and individuals, says Vinay Hebbar, managing director, HBP (India). In a conversation with DNA he shares HBP’s plans for India.
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The future of books
Source: business-standard.com
With the invasion of e-readers, could the future of the book as a physical object made of paper and ink be as tentative and bleak as that of the tiger.
It’s been coming for a while, of course. Amazon reminds us consistently how more and more people are buying e-versions over real versions. Steve Jobs continues to make products we’re not really sure we need, but are so cool we must have. Self-publishing, that previously dirty word, hovers over the newly democratised cyber world, and titters.
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Mysteries of the Market
Source: The Telegraph
How true is the charge that some dishonesty is essential for publishing to be successful?
Before going into the semantics of what is right or wrong, two basic facts must be mentioned. First, publishing is a business and the first job of business is to sell and make profit. Second, like all businesses, ‘adjustments’ or ‘compromises’ are necessary for publishing to remain in business
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Re-editing Enid
Source: The Economic Times
Not only are publishers, rewriting history in the name of rightspeak, editors are robbing an era of authentic voice.
The fear is that eventually Enid Blyton’s jolly adventurous youngsters who got up to high jinks, had hearty ‘teas’ that featured thick ham sandwiches and ‘lashings of ginger beer’ may be forced to become cool dudes in unisex clothes, feasting on hamburgers and cola in the name of ‘updating’ .
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Reading pictures
Source: business-standard.com
For many readers of serious literature, the very name of this genre is confusing. If something involves pictures and speech bubbles, surely it must be called a comic? And if a thing is called a comic, surely it cannot, by definition, be worthy of sober literary attention? Yet in recent years, some of the most successful graphic novels have been both serious and literary: Maus: A Survivor’s Tale by Art Spiegelman is set in World War II Germany. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi is the autobiographical tale of one little girl growing up in Iran around the time of the Islamic Revolution. Epileptic by “David B” (David Beauchard) is the searing autobiographical account of a young man growing up in the shadow of his elder brother’s epilepsy. All three received ecstatic reviews and awards from the literary establishment. Read more »
Ban gone, now where’s that Shivaji book?
Source: Mid-Day
Enquiries are flooding bookstores across city, but publisher Oxford University press says as of now it has no plans to print fresh copies of James Laine’s controversial book on Chhatrapati Shivaji. Read more »
Just who is a bestselling author today?
Source: Times of India
Where, then, does the problem begin? After picking up a Rushdie in which sublime prose is a guarantee, and a Pullman whose The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ is simply extraordinary, the reader ventures towards the zone of nebulous ambiguity. A writer named Matthew Reilly intrigues him. Who is he, the reader thinks, while taking a look at Reilly’s Contest whose jacket has a good review by the Adelaide Australian. Should one pick up the book, or leave it alone?
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New Book Releases and Events
This section reports on new book and journal releases, new imprints and other similar events.
New publishing imprint ‘Amaryllis’ launched
Source: newkerala.com
A new literary fiction and non-fiction publishing imprint ‘Amaryllis’ boasts of forthcoming books by eminent personalities ranging from BJP leader Jaswant Singh and Magsaysay Award winning activist Sandeep Pandey to fantasy author Ashok K Banker and film actress Deepti Naval.
‘Amaryllis’, which means the lily flower, is an imprint of Manjul Publishing House that publishes books in Hindi and Indian language translations of international bestsellers, including the world renowned Harry Potter novels. Read more »
A book written by its readers
Source: Hindustan Times
Random experiences and impressions of people growing up in urban India compiled into a book is not something new. But, what if the book is yet-to-be written and the debutante author leans on fans of a social networking site for content? Techie Karthik Iyengar hopes to set a new trend in publishing when he embarks on a 40-day road journey from Kanyakumari to Leh-Ladakh, interacting with fans of his Facebook community along the way and including their experiences in his upcoming book Horn Ok Please. Read more »
Garg in translation
Source: expressbuzz.com
Mridula Garg, a familiar name in the Hindi literary scene, is noted for her emphasis on women centric narratives. Extensively translated into languages including English, Marathi and Japanese, the author has been introduced to the readers of Malayalam fiction with the translation of her award-winning novel Kathgulab. The work is considered a landmark in the fictional oeuvre of this activist-writer who strongly identifies with the cause of women empowerment and environmental protection. Read more »
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