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India focus for London Book Fair

LONDON: India’s bourgeoning, if somewhat disorganised, publishing industry will be the focus of next year’s London Book Fair, it was announced hereon Tuesday.

The theme of the three-day fair, to be held in April, is grandly titled “India Through Fresh Eyes.” The organisers promise a feast of events to showcase the growth and diversity of Indian publishing.

“The programme will cover linguistic, economic, geographic and demographic issues,” the organisers said in a statement.

The emphasis, however, will be on marketing, with an eye on exploiting India’s huge and still growing book market. It is seen as an important business opportunity for British and other international publishers looking for joint ventures with Indian publishers.

“India is a big market for English language books and it is essential for international publishers to understand this emerging market,” one official said, pointing out that in recent years the level of Indian participation at the London Book Fair had increased significantly.

A spokesperson for Federation of Indian Publishers said: “The London Book Fair will provide great opportunity to our publishers, and also to old and new emerging authors, to showcase their latest titles and highlight the progress made in India in the book publishing industry.”

In recent years, India has been the theme at international literary events including the Frankfurt Book Fair and the Paris Book Fair.

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