Leading English fiction publishers in India

Nilanjana Roy profiles the leading players in English fiction publishing in India, in the Business Standard.

Penguin India - Former CEO David Davidar, who now heads Penguin Canada, used to say that Penguin India had published "every Indian author of any importance", and that boast still holds true. Some authors grumble that Penguin has become a factory where the bottom line, rather than literary merit, rules. Others praise Penguin's professionalism and the effort it puts into training its staff. Most debut authors still send their manuscripts to Penguin first.

Penguin India was set up in 1985 as a joint venture between Penguin Group (one of the top 5 global publishing houses) and Aveek Sarkar of the Ananda Bazar Patrika Group. "Today, the company publishes over 200 titles every year and has an active backlist of over 750 titles," according to Penguin India's website. Penguin launched it's Indian language publishing initiative in April 2005 and has published a few titles in Hindi, Urdu and Marathi.

Roli Books: Often dubbed the "maharaja's press" for its signature coffee table books, many of which feature India's erstwhile princes, Roli Books is branching out. Pramod Kapoor started Roli in a ramshackle warehouse in Daryaganj and soon turned it into India's best-known publisher of coffee-table books. Recently, Roli has moved into fiction, general non-fiction and translations. IndiaInk, the imprint that got off to a fairy-tale start by publishing The God of Small Things, is now under its umbrella. But it's the landmark edition of Khushwant Singh's Train to Pakistan that indicates Roli's real USP might lie in marrying their flair for working with images-Margaret Bourke-White's searing Partition pictures, in this case-with the right book.

Roli publishes in English, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese and Spanish!

Rupa & Co: Rupa prides itself on knowing what the "real" reader wants-Anurag Mathur, in a previous generation, Chetan Bhagat in our time, for instance. Rupa, one of the largest in the business, has an incredibly efficient network, which makes up for its uneven editing. But publisher R K Mehra and his son Kapish Mehra both know what works in the market. It’s been a long way from Rupa’s quiet start, with two slender volumes of Bengali verse, to its present status as the publisher that others ignore at their own peril.

Rupa was founded in 1936 (yes, as far back as that!) by D. Mehra, in then Calcutta, which explains their first titles being two volumes of Bengali poems.

HarperCollins India: When HarperCollins first came into India, Penguin and Rupa prepared for a battle that never happened. HarperCollins scored minor successes, but was plagued by unrealistic expectations and trouble on the editorial front. This week, seasoned Penguin executive Karthika Karthikeyan-one of the top three there-took over at the helm. With enough editorial support, she might change HarperCollins peripatetic fortunes in India.

HarperCollins is another of the global publishing majors, a part of Rupert Murdoch owned News Corp.

Picador India (no India website, only Picador Global web site): Picador India began brilliantly, and still has authors of the calibre of Amit Chaudhuri and I Allan Sealy on its list, but has stayed very small. Where it scores is in the care that goes into design and editing, and its willingness, unusual in this age, to build up a stable of literary authors rather than focus on instant bestsellers.

Picador is an imprint of Pan Macmillan, a unit of Macmillan, owned by German media group Holtzbrinck.

Tara Press (no website): Tara Press is part of India Research Press, known for working in close conjunction with authors and editors. The emphasis on design, layout and editing shifts wildly; some books are almost-perfect, others riddled with errors.

This is the odd man out. I'm surprised to find Tara Press listed as a leading English fiction publisher in India. How many novels have they published?

Random House India: New entrant Random House has just a scant handful of books to its credit-Manju Kapur's Home, Abha Dawesar's That Summer in Paris-but it seems to be in India for the long haul. Random is led by the formidably intelligent Chiki Sarkar, who packed in a wealth of experience at Bloomsbury before shifting to India. Random should be fun to watch in the next few years, if it doesn't trip up over the problems that have plagued so many other foreign publishers

Random House is another of the global publishing majors, and a part of the German media group, Bertelsmann. Interestingly, Chiki Sarkar, is the daughter of Aveek Sarkar, who owns Penguin India jointly with Penguin Group.

The two global biggies who are not yet publishing in India are Simon & Schuster (part of the Viacom group) and Little Brown/Time Warner Books (now part of Hachette Book Group). Hachette is planning to set up shop in India and Simon & Schuster expects to be publishing in Indian within the next five years.

Comments

[Account Deleted]

I want to find a publisher for my novel - Kalabash.

[sam bashwar]

hi i m sam bashwar.
i have wrote a beautiful story, which is very intresting.
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i m still working on my climax
i m a debut author and searching for an publisher.
any one plzz accept my manuscript, or else give me the address of a top publisher.
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thank you

[piyush]

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[dilip kumar]

ilike to publish the transelation of my malayalam novel
K Dilipkumar
email [email protected]

[Asit Ghosh]

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Regards,

Asit (Phone: 09830077464)

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--

[Vinit Shivaji Parulekar]

I have written a fiction which is already chosen from several publishers from USA and UK, but i would like to publish it in an indian publishing house. I am sure that you will love my work.

[subramanya]

I have written a Book, non fiction, entitled- Edifying Thoughts, through my blog URL- http://siliconindia.com/edifying thoughts
i have sampled my writings, and have received very good comments and appreciation.
I am looking for a reputed Literary agent/ publisher/sponsor to undertake a tie-up business deal with a publisher.
Can anyone please write to me giving some good references, i will be much obliged.
Regards
Subramanya
[email protected]
Ph- +91 80 9986616857

[SANJAY PRASAD]

I want to publish my novel and poems please advise

[Sekhar V]

First time in my life, I penned down a story with the title “IIT Days and My Failure Race” that's earning an unimagined response in my blog. The write up presents reality coupled with fiction in simple and concise stories with IIT backdrop.

It’s the feeling of an average Indian youth about the valuable traditions and customs on love and lust. Diminishing moral values, growing heights of knowledge and compelled emotions of a student from an average middle class family have been presented in the story. The content of the story upholds the rich traditional values of the Indian culture, heritage and focuses especially on the youth and the parents. The content is worthy for a commercial selling even.

Looking for a publisher to get this printed :)

I wish my words reach millions

[Sekhar V, 9765903439]

Forgot my mobile no

[Debasis Biswal]

Dear sirs,
I have collected some poems of my father who is nomore in this world.His last desired was to be publish that such beautiful poems,but he could not do that.I am just little telling about him.He was Working as an engineer in a government Organisation.During his service period he was very loyal at his work,but his loyality was the basic reasons for his death.His poems based on our religeons such as reincarnation of lord bishnu which is written from A to Z manner. some poems are being written on nature.But I am sorry to say sir actually I donot have enough money to publish that such beautiful poems.so please help me out I think it will give you very good response.
Yours,Debasis Biswal

[vrushali a]

can anybody help me with the contact information about srishti publishers, new delhi.info avaialable on the net is no updated

[anurag raj]

description:

A NEW AUTHOR NAMED RAJ JUST OF 19 YEARS IS DESCRIBING THE TRUTH OF LIFE FROM HIS BOOK. A BATTLE B/W LOVE,LIFE,RELATION,ACADEMICS,FUTURE,AND "I"........A PHASE OF FAILURE HOW CHANGES SOMEONE'S LIFE AND HE IS ABLE TO OBSERVE THE FAKE WORLD AROUND HIM,AND THAN THE QUESTION ARISES "WHO AM I?".....SEARCH FOR THE ANSWERS,AND AT LAST HE GET IT,ITS JUST NOT ABOUT THE AUTHOR ITS ABOUT US........ A PUBLIC ISSUE MIXED WITH TRUE LOVE,ITS THE SAME STORY THAT U READ TILL JUST IN DIFFERENT WAY........................ITS ABOUT LOVE,YOUTH,PATROTIASM,ONEROUS PROBLEMS AROUND US AND LOTS MORE..just need a publisher that can aid us....

[sarwan kumar]

I have written a fiction story based on Human & the Nature relationship but in Hindi. It’s unique, fresh, science fiction as well. It’s also about new human genes. This story is the home of future which takes to the world of 2063. A fiction country in the South Asia had been showed visible. It’s about a very beautiful country that carries maximum qualities from rest of the world, its Great traditions, different religions, natures & beliefs.

It’s a story cum novel has been written eyeing publishing it or make a film. It has more than 450 computer pages.
It shows a new future invention in present time & its impact over this country & rest of the world. It runs Smooth on the way carrying love beyond territories, mysteries, romance, some history, beliefs. It highlights some new technology. It brings two different believers together. It shows how to live without h arming the nature continuing the development. It’s meaningful. It’s about people living to this fiction country from different parts of the world but without their country identification but one family & being its member identification. It has sex & violence.
It’s the one that had been never before even later.
If you are really interested & think its worth according to my explanation then definitely contact.
Experience a new world with this unique story.

Thanks & Regards
Sarwan Kumar
9871315576
India, New Delhi)

[sarwan kumar]

There are millions of authors and same as the stories. In this field now one more adding. Of course any author is known by his writing. What subject he chooses, how he writes it. There are two ways of writing on any subject, one on subjective base; writing it as it is. It’s when you write on real incident, real life. Other one is fiction. What happens when you such fiction that is not fiction. It means your brain is not ready to believe it a fiction or fiction story. That what you feel when read this concept. You also feel this is the one I wanted; it’s certainly had what I kept internal. These are my feelings coming out through some one’s mind.
To make this fiction real it took more than 5 hard years. It was uneasy for B.A. Student to write some part containing the information that is science related. It has been written eyeing today’s world. It has really looks like some of the Human Developments are unbalancing the nature. This story takes you to the future time. It gets you travel to a wonderful fiction country in South Asia part. It’s Idealist and really have all the qualities that are hardly scene in rest of the world or some of scenario you might have scene but not to particular place or in a single country. Its tradition, its climate, its religion, history, beliefs and of course behavior of her citizens for the people make her very special & unique.
It’s about new miracle Genes. The Genes invented for the first time by a great scientist for the welfare of Common people and its impact over the world.
Over all it’s different concept, have some unseen characters, new fiction and its absolute pleasure of mine to present it to be read & feel a new coming world.
Nothing looks like artificial. One will really die to travel to this part of the Asia Ireland. So come & enjoy the feel of journey by reading this story…but after publishing…..

Thanks & Regards
Sarwan Kumar
9871315576 (Personal)
9250222850 (Home)

[Navjot Singh Dhaliwal]

I have a novel named Lb Ju... Its about a story of 2 best friends who cant find a path to be with each other any more. Than a choice comes and life changes.

[Gabriel Timar]

I am a Canadian/Hungarian fiction writer having fourteen full-length novels--in two languages--to my credit.
I wish to find find a reputable Indian firm willing to publish some of novels as originals, translations, and/or obtain a license publish them.

To assess the quality of my writing, kindly visit my website (www.gabor-timar.com) and select the novel(s) you may wish to examine. I can send you digital copies (pdf) immediately; hard copy takes a bit longer.

[Shouvik]

We are coming up with a new and most comfortable online book store in 3 languages English, Bengali and French. With office in Mumbai and France, We are currently looking for various publishers/Distributors who can provide us the books as per our requirement.
Authors are most welcome to showcase their talent through our website.
We will be providing books in various geographies across world.
[email protected]

[Hardik Dhamija]

I've finished with a novel (love story), adding some twist and turns, the madness of love, I've applied for the copyrights and now, looking for the publisher, if anyone can help, plz contact
Hardik Dhamija (09779289839)
email-"[email protected]"

[sildenafil citrate]

Before I made it to rprased, I came up with the same question posed in their post. Can we do anything contrary to God's will? Going deeper, think about the word "will." Whether you're talking about God's will or free will, it implies deciding between choices. Is God faced with choices where He has to pick one over the other? Choosing between two "good" options might be comprehensible. But what if He were confronted with picking "the lesser of two evils?" What if He had only two options and both were "bad?" In that light, does God really have a will? If so, what exactly do you mean when you say God's "will?"

[DHRUVRAJSINH PARMAR]

I AM A DEBUT AUTHOR AND I HAVE WRITTEN A FICTION.
I WISH TO PUBLISH MY SELF BUT DON'T HAVE THE NECESSARY SOURCES..
MY EMAIL ID IS [email protected]
ANYBODY WHO CAN GIVE ME A CHANCE I ALSO NEED A COPYRIGHT FOR MY WORK..PLS HELP.
--DHRUVRAJSINH PARMAR

[book publishing]

If you're serious about wanting to publish novels and poems, then Schiel & Denver offers a good service.

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I am a Canadian/Hungarian fiction writer having fourteen full-length novels--in two languages--to my credit.

[C Chandran]

I have written a book on Practical English Grammar.
The book gives emphasis on practice.
The book will be very useful for pre and post degree students.
All concepts are explained in simple English and examples.
There are 100 or more objective type questions on each topic, in
addition to descriptive type questions.
Also, there are a number of sentences in different tenses, which
can be repeated many times by the readers.
The objective is by repeated readings, the sentences and the meanings
get registered in their sub conscious mind, and they can retrieve and
use them as situations demand.

I would like this to be published by a good publishing company.
If interested send an email to me at [email protected]
thanks
Chandran

[PIYUSH SINHA]

hi i want to publish a short story collection name "A whole some affair". its about
14 short story collection each story is of any inherent human emotions as, love ,
lust, regret, doubt n etc