The Hindu Business Line : Good word

Nuzhat Hassan, Director of National Book Trust (NBT), has good reason to be pleased with the success of this year’s book fair. The NBT, an autonomous institution of the Human Resources Development Ministry, has been holding the fair once every t wo years since 1972.

“Back in 1972, it was a modest affair: just 200 participants displaying their equally modest collection of books in a paltry area of less than 8,000 sq metres. Thirty-six years and 16 fairs later, the NDWBF has become a huge affair; 1,343 exhibitors from India and 22 other countries, displaying several hundred thousand books in 2,500 stalls spread over an area of 45,000 sq metres in 13 halls of the sprawling Pragati Maidan. Indeed, we have come a long way,” she recalls.

An Indian Police Service (IPS) officer who joined the NBT as Director in February 2005 on a five-year deputation, Nuzhat has represented India and the NBT at many international book fairs, including those held in Frankfurt, Beijing, Lahore, Leipzig and Barcelona. A postgraduate in chemistry from Delhi University, she also has a Master’s degree in mass communication from the Jamia Milia Islamia and has authored The Marginals, a collection of short stories.

The NBT director points out that the fair this year registered high sales as compared to the biennial event’s previous editions. Thanks to a Metro station nearby, even people from far-off areas, including the neighbouring States of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, were able to commute to Pragati Maidan conveniently. This resulted in an impressive increase in the number of visitors.

“And they included lots of general book-lovers, college students, school children, and those coming in for trade enquiries. The sales this year witnessed a 70 per cent jump over last year. And the number of publishers doing business between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 50 lakh or more has also seen a phenomenal rise,” says Nuzhat.

The booming Indian publishing industry is today worth a hefty Rs 1,000 crore. Each year, 80,000 titles are published in 24 languages, including some 25,000 in English. India ranks third in the world for English publications, after the US and the UK, she adds.

And confident Indian publishers now appear willing to pay hefty advances for a promising title by a celebrity author. Many of them even take part in global bidding for books by promising writers. And writers’ agents from places like London and New York routinely invite Indian publishers to bid for books likely to be bestsellers and are delighted that they outbid other publishers quite often!

“This year, we also received more trade visitors compared to previous years,” says Nuzhat. They included large publishers’ delegations from the UK as well as representatives of the London Book Fair, the Abu Dhabi Book Fair, USA Book Expo and the Frankfurt Book Fair.

World Book Fairs are held at regular intervals in 28 cities across the globe. Russia was the theme country this year. Russian puppets and 12,000 Russian titles were on display.

Foreign publishers too are flocking to India, not only to use this country as a printing hub but also to source writers, designers and new business partners. International publishing giants such as Random House and Harlequin recently set up shop here.

Harlequin, a $450-million Canadian company that owns the 100-year-old Mills & Boon imprint, is planning to print 10 titles a month, priced at Rs 99 a copy. And the company’s CEO, Donna Hayes, is looking for Indian authors to create Mills & Boon titles for Indians that are set in India. The company’s 1,300 authors include US army colonels and Egyptian doctors among others.

“Why not Indians who have proven writing and storytelling skills in English,” Donna asks.