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Picador foray into quality Indian writing
Picador Editor Sam Humphreys (right) and Publisher Andrew Kidd in New Delhi on Friday.
QUALITY, AND not quantity, is the buzzword at Picador India which has moved towards a new phase in its evolution by opening up its office in India and by endeavouring to develop an India-specific author base with their customary attention to literary fiction and non-fiction.
"Indian writing has become quite fashionable in the West. However, we are in search of new voices - those which are truly original and not imitators of a previous trend," says Andrew Kidd, Picador publisher, who along with Sam Humphreys, its Editor, is in Delhi now to kickstart the process of publishing literary fiction and non-fiction that is independent of its own and not necessarily tied to the Picador (UK) publishing programme.
Andrew Kidd, previously Editorial Director of Viking and Hamish Hamilton, joined Picador as publisher in 2002. Since then he has redefined and revitalised the imprint, acquiring new titles by authors as diverse as Helen Fielding, Niall Williams, Julian Barnes and Pankaj Mishra. Under his leadership, Picador UK has gone from strength to strength - in terms of staff, books, visibility in the marketplace and, ultimately, sales. Now he hopes to repeat the same miracle in India as well.
Sam Humphreys has been an Editor at Picador since 2003. She is closely involved with the Picador India programme, and is a major part of all editorial decisions. And while their India-specific line-up does allow scope for any title, be it fiction or non-fiction, she along with Andrew tries to ensure that new voices are always "out of the box" types and not conform to any pattern.
A publishing house which gives away a prize annually to the best non-fiction writing from India, Picador India is getting ready to publish some truly astounding titles. "Tabish Khair's second novel -The Bus Stopped -tops this list. It is about a motley group of characters and their experience of tragedy," says Andrew.
Other titles include Lucky Girls by upcoming literary sensation Nell Freudenberger - a collection of short stories set in India and Southeast Asia, written with calm familiarity and keen observation. "Walking The Tightrope" edited by Rehana Ahmed features South Asian writers in Britain including Farrukh Dhondy, Aamer Hussein, Rukhsana Ahmed and Romesh Gunasekhara.
And while the India-specific publishing line-up has some books which will be published both in India and the U.K., Picador is also publishing V.S. Naipaul's novel, "Half a Life", on his search for that which will "place him both in the world and apart from it."
"We have also commissioned the only authorised biography of Naipaul," informs Andrew Kidd.
Combining the narratives of Buddha and India with the author's own in a compelling chronicle of discovery and understanding is Pankaj Mishra's "World of the Buddha" that Picador is in the process of publishing. "While publishing non-fiction, it is important that the focus is on quality and not quantity. While we are keen to expand the list, we do not want to jeopardise quality," points out Sam.
By Kannan K
Photo: Rajeev Bhatt
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Life
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