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cover storyemergINg treNdE-books are in, if we go by the startling figures posted by Amazon.com, the world's largest online retailer.During April-May 2011, for every 100 hardcover and paperback books, the company sold 105books for its Kindle e-reader. According to L McQuivey, a digital media analyst at Forrester Research,a leading technology and market research company, by 2015, the e-book market in the U.S. “will nearlytriple to almost $3 billion, a point at which the industry will be forever altered”.Although outside Amazon, sales figures for e-books are quite minuscule in most markets as comparedto those for printed books, the growing affinity of the youth with the e-readers speaks volumes aboutan emerging trend. However, unlike the U.S., the Indian publishing industry is yet to catch up with thedigital trend, notwithstanding the increasing interest being shown by young Indian readers in thee-books. Limited circulation of economically priced e-book readers is often cited as the primary hindrancefor the e-book publishing industry in India. Moreover, popularising e-books in India would alsorequire making e-books available in various vernacular languages.INDIAN PUBLISHINg INDUSTRY AT A gLANCE*nnnnnnnnnSixth-largest publishing industry in the world with annual growth rate of 15-20 percentThird-largest publisher of books in EnglishAround 90,000 books are published annuallyThere are around 19,000 publishers in the countryOne-fourth of the youth population, a staggering figure of more than 83 million, identifythemselves as book readersThe government of India allows 100 percent equity in the publishing industryNearly 70 percent of textbook publishing in the country is carried out by the governmentSixty percent of global publishing outsourcing is based in IndiaThe business process outsourcing publishing services sector is estimated to reach a value of$1.2 billion by 2012*Source: The Indian Invitation: Why India Makes a Perfect Publishing Partner, an article by Vinutha Mallya, Senior Editor ofMapin Publishing, published in Publishing Perspectives, an international online publishing newsletter.20 Pravasi Bharatiya July 2011
INdIaN puBlIshINg INdustry Is INthe mIdst of a traNsItIoN phasein India, providing more choices to the authors and more choices,by that very token, to the readers. “There’s also a great deal oforiginal fiction and non-fiction being published, first in India andlater in the rest of the world. Earlier, it was usually the other wayround. The competition among publishing houses in India hascreated a more democratic way of choosing fiction and nonfiction— this is necessary, and critical to the growth of goodliterature,” she says.However, Divya Dubey, who is the owner and publisher ofgyaana Books, a Delhi-based publishing house, laments that thedemand for serious fiction in India is limited mainly to theliterary circles. “There’s certainly a demand for pulp fiction,chick-lit (mainly by young writers), and cheaper books.Everyone seems to be liking them — the retailers, thedistributors and the buyers. And, of course, everybody wantsthe bestsellers,” Dubey points out. In contrast, the celebratedTamil writer Sivasankari, who has over 35 novels, innumerablenovellas, travelogues and essays to her credit, says that literarytrends swing like a pendulum. “For instance, poetry has startedto sell well and, in recent times, lots of new poets have comeup. This was not the case 20 years ago when short story writersruled. Many also say that poetry doesn’t sell any more. Ingeneral, however, the reading habit sustains,” she says in aninterview (in 2009) in a leading English daily published in India.Sivasankari points out that the market of books in Indianlanguages, especially in Tamil, Bengali, Hindi, Malayalam is alsoflourishing. “No language is in the danger of vanishing exceptperhaps Manipuri, Indian Nepali and Sindhi — cases where thenumber of people who speak the language is very small. Sales ofbooks and the number of magazines in these languages arediminishing.”The allure of reading books, especially those printed on paper,lies in the tactile feeling it lends to the act of reflection on issuesyou are a young entrepreneurin the publishing industry.how has been the experienceso far?DD: It’s been extremely toughand challenging at everystage, to say the least, thoughwe’ve had our little momentsof triumph as well.What are your views on thecurrent state of the publishingindustry in India?Divya Dubey,Publisher, Gyaana BooksDD: The Indian publishing industry is going through atransition phase right now. There have been major shiftsrecently — in terms of reading habits, publishing trendsand the number of publishing houses here. There aremany more players now, and even more are coming up,a lot of them being independents. We can also see thatmany young people in the publishing industry are doingreally well.With the advances in technology, various new formats inpublishing have emerged. the market for e-books is, infact, growing quite fast in India. In this context, do yousee a gradual evaporation of the habit of reading booksin the traditional hardcover and paperback formats?Well, when the TV came, everybody thought the radiowould disappear, but it didn’t happen. They co-exist.I think traditional paper books will be around for a longtime to come, especially in India. Apart from the issuesof access, many people are simply not comfortablereading on screen for pleasure; I happen to beone of them.What is the most fascinating aspect of reading books inthe ‘traditional’ format?The sweet smell of paper; the texture reflected in thesunlight; turning the crisp pages; placing pretty bookmarks,ribbons, and dried flowers inside a book...how can the culture of reading books in the traditionalformat be shielded from the onslaught of the electronicand digital media?Realistically, there is little one can do; people havetheir preferences. But there are as many people whofavour traditional books as those who like the newformats.that matter to the reader. And with more and more writings aboutIndia and Indian writers gaining global recognition, the Indianpublishing industry can only hope that the best is yet to come.Increasing literacy and affluence can only deepen the book story.The future of books is far from bleak, at least in India.Meanwhile, I have made a promise to the girl whom Imentioned earlier in the article. As you might have alreadyguessed, I have promised to pick up the pen once more andwrite letters to her. I am getting into the groove, and will besoon posting a couple of them.July 2011 Pravasi Bharatiya 21
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