The Publisher’s Post: Vol. I Ed. XLIX

Dated: 17th Aug. 2008

The Publisher’s Post is a weekly newsletter that contains information relating to the book publishing and book selling industry in India.

News This Week
On what’s happened in the industry this last week. If there’s news you have heard of and think it would make for interesting reading, please share it with us.

“Twenty20 of Storytelling”
Source: Daliy News and Analysis (DNA)
The global community blogging platform LiveJournal has made its India entry with the launch of a flash-fiction writing contest, which is being called the Twenty20 of story-telling. Organised along with Caferati, an Indian online literary community, Quick Tales - the LiveJournal flash-fiction contest - is open for participation from Aug 11 to Sep 7, to anyone with a mailing address in India.

“Flash-fiction is an ancient form, but has grown hugely in popularity in these attention-deficit times, with the growth of the Internet. If standard short fiction is like a one-day international, think of the Quick Tales Contest as the Twenty20 of contemporary story-telling,” said Peter Griffin, co-founder and joint-editor of Caferati.

The word ‘journal’ is the theme of the contest and the top entry will get Rs.20,000. There are prizes for positions two to five as well. Each of the 100 short-listed entries will also be highlighted on the India writing community (http://community.livejournal.com/india_writing/) on LiveJournal, where the contest is hosted.

Short-listed stories may also be featured in a book that LiveJournal plans to publish at a later date, its statement released here said. This contest has been conceived to support web users in India with a passion for creative writing. This writing contest will be the first opportunity for Indian web users to engage with a LiveJournal project specifically designed for India.

Frankfurt Book Fair entrance tickets at the German Book Office, New Delhi
German Book Office, New Delhi links the professional interests of the international book industry in our partner countries and the German book market. It also provides the option of purchasing your entrance tickets for the Frankfurt Book Fair.
Timings: 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (except holidays and weekends)
Contact Details:
ARINDITA GOGOI¦Administrative Project Coordinator
GERMAN BOOK OFFICE NEW DELHI
No. 3 Rajdoot Marg ¦ Chanakyapuri
New Delhi ¦ India
t +91 11 241 074 03/04 Extn. 202
f +91 11 241 074 05

Amazon acquires AbeBooks
Source: Book Business Magazine
Amazon.com has reached an agreement to acquire AbeBooks, an online marketplace for used, rare and out-of-print books. The Victoria, British Columbia-based AbeBooks will continue to function as a stand-alone operation and maintain its Web sites.

“As a leader in rare and hard-to-find books, AbeBooks brings added breadth and expanded selection to our customers worldwide,” says Russell Grandinetti, vice president of books for Amazon.com. “AbeBooks provides a wide range of services to both sellers and customers, and we look forward to working with them to further grow their business. We’re excited to present all of our customers with the widest selection of books available any place on Earth.”

“This deal brings together booksellers and book lovers from around the world, and offers both types of customers a great experience,” says AbeBooks CEO Hannes Blum. “We are very excited to be joining the Amazon family.”

The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to close before the end of the fourth quarter of 2008.

New Book Releases and Events
This section reports on new book and journal releases, new imprints and other similar events.

New Imprint, CinnamonTeal Classics, launched
If searching for a copy of P.B. Shelley’s “Adonais” or Jules Verne’s “All Around the Moon” frustrates you, despair not. CinnamonTeal Print and Publishing Services have launched a new imprint, CinnamonTeal Classics, that will bring back to print various classics on a print-on-demand basis.

These books will be printed only on request and can be personalized as a gift or a keepsake. The current catalog of books available for reprint runs into about a thousand titles. There will be five cover designs to choose from and each book can be ordered simply by sending an email to the address provided. The books will be delivered to your doorstep, gift wrapped if you so choose. For further details do visit http://www.cinnamonteal.in/classics.html

CinnamonTeal is also looking for persons and institutions to partner with to extend this service for books in Indian languages.

CinnamonTeal, headquartered in Margao, Goa, provides editorial and publishing services for individuals and institutions. Its publications include novels, books of poetry, customized textbooks, print versions of online magazines, memoirs, non-fiction books and various customized texts. It is also in the process of introducing a web-based service that will make “do-it-yourself publishing” a breeze.

For more details email contactus@cinnamonteal.in

Crossing Literary Boundaries
Source: The Hindu (Kerala)
Kerala has been projected just as a tourist spot abroad. Its rich cultural heritage and literature have not received proper introduction outside the country, Raj de Condappa, managing director of a French publishing house involved in translation of books from Indian languages, has said.

“There are many readers in France and Belgium who want to know about Indian traditions, rituals and literature. But paucity of skilled translators often becomes an obstacle for this cultural interaction,” said Mr. Condappa, speaking on the release of the French translation of K.P. Ramanunni’s novel “What the Sufi Said”. The French title of the book is “Tharavad ce que de sait le Soufi”. Luc Roger, a Belgian philologist, translated it to French from English. “We were fascinated by the detailed account of Kerala’s mythological and cultural background in Ramanunni’s book,” said Mr. Condappa. The story of “What the Sufi Said” revolves around the inter-religious marriage between a Muslim boy and a Hindu girl.

The shared space between Hindus and Muslims in India has been discussed even in academic forums in Western countries. “What the Sufi Said” is the fourth Malayalam book translated into French by Mr. Condappa’s publishing firm. “My Story” by Kamala Das was the first book.

“Through ‘My Story’ we wanted to introduce a woman revolutionary writer, who fought for women’s rights, to the French readers.Thakazhi’s “Chemmeen” and Chakorel Radhakrishnan’s “The Patches of the Shadow” were the other Malayalam books translated by the publishers.

New Books from Wiley India
Get Your Frog Out Of The Well: Private Lessons For The Global Economy
By Chuck Boyer
ISBN : 978-81-265-1671-1
A new book by Wiley India provides candid and often humorous advice for recent graduates to senior managers on how to survive and thrive in the New Economy-from dealing with Americans to mastering the art of finding your own voice and making it heard.
The author combines entertaining stories from his own experience with words of hard-earned wisdom from exclusive interviews with a star-studded list of business leaders - Subroto Bagchi, co-founder of MindTree Consulting, Dr. Sridhar Mitta of e4e, Ajay Kela of Symphony Services and others - who talk candidly about what works today and what doesn’t.

Cadbury’s Purple Reign: The Story behind Chocolate’s Best-Loved Brand
By John Bradley
ISBN: 978-0-470-72524-5
The story of how Cadbury came to be the world’s pre-eminent chocolate brand and its definitive history are to be told for the first time in the new book by John Bradley, Cadbury’s Purple Reign. This is a no holds barred account of the rollercoaster ride the organization has experienced, and how it ultimately led to its success.

New Launches from Sri Lanka
Centre for Policy Alternatives, supported by the Berghof Foundation for Conflict Studies, has announced the launch of the Sinhala and Tamil Language publications: Power Sharing, The Federal Idea and Sri Lanka and Local Governance in Sri Lanka: Past and Present

“Power Sharing, The Federal Idea and Sri Lanka” will be introduced by Professor Jayantha Seneviratne, Senior Lecturer, Department of Philosophy, University of Kelaniya while “Local Governance in Sri Lanka: Past and Present” will be introduced by Professor Navaratna Bandara, Head of the Political Science Department, University of Peradeniya

The event will be held on Tuesday the 19th of August, from 2.00 p.m to 5.00 p.m at the National Library Auditorium, Colombo

Other Mentionable Book Releases
Good Times for Everyone: Sexuality Questions, Feminist Answers
by Radhika Chandiramani
ISBN: 81-88965-48-0
This anthology is an absolutely invaluable compilation of questions and answers on the most commonly experienced sexuality-related concerns. Based on the author’s highly popular column, ‘Midlife Crisis’ in The Asian Age, it covers all ages, all situations and conditions, and believes firmly that everyone has a right to self-affirming and enjoyable sexuality. It is a resource for people who are looking for information, but don’t know where to start, for those who are confused about what they already know, those who are about to begin their sexual lives, those who might be bored with theirs, those wanting to know how to have safer sex, and those simply wanting to know more.

Radhika Chandiramani is a clinical psychologist, and works and writes on issues of sexuality, sexual and reproductive health and rights.

For more details contact:
Women Unlimited
(an associate of Kali for Women)
K-36, Hauz Khas Enclave,
Ground Floor,
New Delhi- 110 016
Tel: 91-11-26964947/26524129

The Classic Popular: Amar Chitra Katha, 1967-2007
by Nandini Chandra

ISBN: 81-903634-3-3

For all those who grew up in seventies and eighties middle-class India, Amar Chitra Katha, or ACK as it was popularly referred to among friends, was an important influence if not an iconic cultural artefact. Published at a time when ACK appears to be on the verge of a second lease of life, this compelling new book draws our attention to the stimulating and troubling potentials of Amar Chitra Katha as a force in modern Indian history.  Based on a reading of visual practices and the complicated art history informing the comics, the book delves into core issues of communalism, history writing and the ways in which middle-class India negotiates the consumption of products of popular culture to suit its ideological moorings.

For more details contact:
Yoda Press
35 A/1 Shahpur Jat
Third floor
New Delhi 110049
India
Tel.: 91-11-26495016

Indian writers tell AIDS stories
Source: BBC Online
Some of India’s best-known writers have come together in a unique anthology of writing which tells the human stories behind HIV/Aids in the country.

India has one of the largest numbers of HIV-positive people in the world and they suffer serious social stigma.

Aids Sutra: Untold Stories from India has been published in collaboration with Avahan, the India Aids initiative of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a leading HIV prevention project. Roughly $2 from the proceeds of each book sold will go to support children affected by HIV/Aids in cities which have a high prevalence of the disease.

For the project, 16 writers travelled across the country to talk to housewives, vigilantes, homosexuals, drug addicts, policemen and sex workers - and served up engaging essays on the disease and its fallout in India. They include Booker Prize-winners Sir Salman Rushdie and Kiran Desai; Vikram Seth, the celebrated author of A Suitable Boy; and internationally-acclaimed writer and historian William Dalrymple. Other contributors include novelist Amit Chaudhuri, leading Bengali writer Sunil Gangopadhyay, historian-writer Mukul Kesavan and popular novelist Shobhaa De.

Chennai launch of Vikram Sampath’s Splendours of Royal Mysore
Source: indiaprwire.com
One of the most definitive accounts of the Wodeyar Dynasty, Vikrams’s book ‘Splendours of Royal Mysore The Untold Story of the Wodeyars’ sketches the long and fascinating regime of the Maharajas of Mysore replete with wars, palace intrigues, romance, valour and deceit.

The book revisits the ups and downs of the dynasty over 600 years starting from the genesis in AD 1399 to the age of glory under Raja Wodeyar, Ranadhira Kanthirava Narasaraja Wodeyar and Chikkadevaraja Wodeyar down to the times of spineless monarchs who let the reigns of the kingdom slip into the hands of powerful ministers.

The Chennai launch of the book took place in a colourful function organized by BITS Pilani Alumni Association (BITSAA) Chennai Chapter on Friday May 30, 2008 in the Skills Theatre, Besant Nagar Chennai. Dr Smt Vyjayanthimala Bali who needs no introduction, historian Shri S Muthiah, Professor Emeritus and advisor to BITS Pilani Dr S Venkateswaran were the chief guests for the book launch function which started off with an invocation rendered by young and upcoming carnatic vocalist Sikkil Gurucharan.

Reading of passages from the book was done by theatre personality Mr T M Karthik and TV personality Ms Anu Ananth. The launch function included the screening of the documentary film on the history and ethos of the princely state. The function ended with a flute concert by Kalaimamani Smt Sikkil Mala Chandrasekar daughter of the famed Sikkil sisters.

The eMedha Paradigm
Source: Business Wire India
Rakesh Misra, an IT professional with over 16 years of experience in software consulting, program & project management and entrepreneurial ventures has stepped beyond his realm and launched his debut novel The eMedha Paradigm into the Indian market. The book published by Srishti Publishers is available in book stores across the country.

The eMedha Paradigm is a full-fledged novel with its storyline coming from IT world intertwined with incidents that examine the tumultuous nature of corporate relationships. It is a tri-cyclic story of a woman stuck between the wheels of a cyber odyssey who is helped by none other than almighty God and his Secretary-of-Earthly-Affairs, who get to play supporting characters. The novel threads together the ephemeral nature of problems in software project management as it has an underlying reference to eMedha philosophy which is a realistic paradigm for these problems.

Blogs and Articles
Comments and posts on trends and events in the book industry.

Commercialization of Bengali Literature: Mercenary Writers and Publishers
Source: The Daily Star

On top of these hard times for Bengali literature, the ghost of commercialization has befallen it as a trouble on a trouble. Prompted by mercantile interests, some authors and publishers are jointly doing a roaring business in ‘literature’ and ‘fiction’. Books with high demand and high supply have a greater market value and are considered as valuable books. They and their authors are deemed to be popular. Authors whose books sell well are in great demand. The larger the sales figures, the more well-known the author. The occasional book fairs turn into seller’s market for books by those ‘big’ writers. The publishers are investing heavily in this ‘literary’ merchandising. They kneel in supplication to those popular authors by giving them colossal advances against royalties. The book is advertised as a ‘marvelous’ read.

The entire article can be read here.

Reading Difficulties
Source: Hindustan Times

It costs Rs 900-1,200 for a meal for two at a restaurant in Mumbai. You could get the new Ghosh and the new book of stories by Jhumpa Lahiri (award-winning, finely calibrated, exquisite tales of belonging and loss) for Rs 1,049. It costs Rs 125-150 for a coffee and a sandwich at one of the coffee chains. A Penguin Popular Classic - the cheaper version of the Penguin Modern Classic - s available for Rs 95. Oh, and my Orwell Centenary Edition of Shooting an Elephant and Other Essays costs Rs 367. That’s less than what I would spend for a few drinks at a Mumbai bar. So it’s not the money. And it’s certainly not that we don’t have the time.
It’s just that we’d rather not buy books. Most of us choose not to.

Read the full editorial here

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This newsletter is developed by Queenie Fernandes and Leonard Fernandes with inputs from various individuals, publishing houses, websites and blogs.

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