Penguin India won the Publishing House of The Year Award at Kalinga Literary Festival 2023, which is ongoing in Bhubaneswar. Editor/Publisher Milee Aishwarya, and Associate Publisher Premanka Goswami received the award, being held at Swosti Premium Hotel in the city.
On the sidelines of the event, Publisher Milee Aishwarya and author Hindol Sengupta shared anecdotes, tips, and the state of affairs of Indian publishing. Aishwarya has been an award-winning publisher with 17 years of experience in the industry. Likewise, Sengupta works as Chief Economic Reform Officer at the Ministry of Commerce and has more than ten renowned books.
Tête-à-tête On Book Publishing With Penguin India Editor/Publisher Milee Aishwarya
What is your take on publishing as a career?
“Publishing is not only a career. I think it’s a lifestyle. That is why you see us on Fridays and Saturdays here talking about books, talking about writers. I think people should choose publishing if they are truly passionate about books. Otherwise, they will get burnt out very soon, and it is difficult to sustain after a certain time,” said Milee Aishwarya.
How did the pandemic affect publishing?
“Publishing is growing in India, as you all know. Physical books are also doing well. While in the pandemic, some bookstores got shut down, many new ones are opening now. And there is excitement. We did very well last year. We have a very strong list for 2023. I’ll urge you all to look at our catalog and choose early what to read,” said Aishwarya.
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“I think people did a lot of things, not only reading. They took up gardening, cooking, and so many other things that you don’t normally don’t get to do because you don’t spend so much time at home. Publishing also grew in certain areas. For example, children’s books did very well. Similarly, self-help, spirituality, finance, and investment, even I think, thrillers grew in terms of sales and have been doing well. Now things are quite open, we are here at the festivals, writers are out there talking about their books, engaging with their readers, so I hope the sale will grow even more in the next few months,” she added.
Is the digital presence of the author a criterion for picking up manuscripts?
“No, I don’t think so. We look at the book and the proposal, and that is what our decision is based on. More and above, if the proposal is good, and the author is active and engages with readers, it’s a bonus. It all starts and ends with the book. That’s the most important thing when we are thinking of acquiring a manuscript. If your book is not good, there won’t be word of mouth; there won’t be readers. Social media will only help you market the book,” said Aishwarya.
“Everyone stresses on social media, but the lady who won the booker is not on social media. Then how her translation book won the booker? At the end of the day, she wrote a good book. And then it was translated, and somebody saw merit in it. So, I think we overvalue social media,” opined Hindol Sengupta.
How have writers evolved over the years?
“Some of the new writers or the debut writers that we have published recently do stand out in some ways. I think they are much more focused. Some of them have worked on their manuscripts for like eight years. Some of them have chosen writing as a full-time career which was not happening 15-20 years ago, and it is not so easy to sustain, but that also is happening right now. So, writers now are much more aware and ambitious,” said Aishwarya.
Kalinga Literary Festival began on February 24th and will end on the 26th.