In India, Books Are Essential

The Association of Publishers in India considers books to be essential to India’s future – as resources for educational ambitions and as outlets for creative expression

With thousands of publishers working in dozens of languages, India is the seventh-largest book publishing nation on Earth. The English-language book market alone is the world’s second-largest, after the US. In addition, the Indian smartphone market is the fastest-growing on the planet, with 300 million users. While Indian-language news and entertainment available on those devices may be leading a generation away from traditional print media, including books, the Association of Publishers in India (API) considers books to be essential to India’s future – as resources for educational ambitions and as outlets for creative expression.

At Taylor & Francis India, Nitasha Devasar is managing director for India and south Asia as well as API’s newly-elected president. In September at the Delhi Book Fair, Publishers on Publishing: Inside India’s Book Business, which she edited, received first prize at the Excellence in Book Production Awards in the POD category.

“One of the reasons for doing the book was that there’s so little available on Indian publishing. And one of the reasons why there is so little available on Indian publishing is because Indian publishers rarely agree on any issue,” Devasar tells CCC’s Chris Kenneally. “We didn’t have anything which people could refer to, while we were such a significant industry. And perhaps the fact that the voice of publishers wasn’t heard was one of the reasons why our significance and importance wasn’t appreciated.

“I have to say that I had an advantage being an insider. I’m almost 25 years in Indian publishing, so I could get people from all over the industry – whether it’s local Indian publishers or it’s multinationals or whether it’s publishing services, distributors, booksellers, or literary agents – and taking into account new trends like self-publishing,” she explains.