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Some, like Penguin, have half a century of them on offer this summer! Nightclub launches, online chats, book reading sessions, author interviews, pre-launch excerpts, all are in the pipeline as publishers seek a piece of the fiction cake.

Not often does such hype accompany the launch of the first book of an upcoming author as has been the privilege of Ameen Merchant and Aravind Adiga. Their debut novels have just hit the bookstalls this summer, but the hype surrounding them is already whetting people’s appetite.

Merchant’s “The Silent Raga”, claimed to be in the literary tradition of Rohinton Mistry and Arundhati Roy, talks of two sisters growing to adulthood in a middle-class Brahmin family in Madras in the early 1990s.

Chennai-based Adiga’s “The White Tiger” is said to be about the new India growing roots all around us. That Adiga is a talent to watch out for is confirmed by writer Mohsin Hamid, who calls it “compelling, angry, and darkly humorous.”

Similarly, Roma Tearne’s book “Bone China” is about a family that moves from war-stricken Sri Lanka to England, carrying a memory-filled collection of fine china which is passed from a grandmother to her granddaughter. At the heart of this book is the idea that music and art can transform trauma. Following close on their heels will be Sanjay Bahadur, whose first novel “The Sound of Water” has been long-listed for the Man Booker.

But why so much fiction at this time? Pramod Kapoor, CEO, Roli Books, explains: “In summers fiction sells better than, say, art books or coffee table books. They do well during the festive season, beginning September. In summers, people travel and prefer to carry their novel with them. A non-illustrated book does better at this time.” He is launching the works of the likes of Paro Anand, Ranjit Lal and Chitra D. Banerjee as well in the coming weeks.

Penguin India’s spokesperson could not agree more. “Gone are the days when you held back your best titles for the festival season. Summers are peak business months.” Incidentally, Penguin India is launching around 20 titles in April itself, rounding off with about 50 titles this summer, including those by Hanif Kureshi, Anita Nair, Shobhaa De, Amitava Ghosh, Navtej Sarna, Indrajit Hazra, Meenaxi Reddy Madhavan and a translation of Manohar Shyam Joshi’s “T’ta Professor” by Ira Pande. While De’s book will be launched with a 10-city tour, Reddy’s book, “You are Here”, is likely to be released in a novel way, including, possibly, a special launch aimed at the youth.

Harper Collins is depending on music as the unique selling point this summer. Says a spokesman, “Music is a uniting factor for both the books of Merchant and Tearne.” Renu Kaul, Managing Director, Vitasta, says, “Summers are the time when parents want kids to read beyond textbooks. So science and technology and fiction books are in demand at this time of the year. People want books that are light and easy to carry.” Incidentally, Vitasta has just launched Noor Zaheer’s “My God is a Woman”, a peep into the world of Safia, a nine-year-old writer!

But, hey, this summer may not all be for debutants, talented and promising though they might be. Keeping the banner aloft for the seasoned wordsmiths is Amitava Ghosh, whose “Sea of Poppies”, the first part of a trilogy, is likely to hit the stalls soon. Then there is Jhumpa Lahiri, who has come up with “Unaccustomed Earth”. Brought out by Random House, the book takes the readers from Cambridge and Seattle to India and Thailand, talking of the lives of sisters and brothers, mothers and fathers.

There’s Dilip Padgaonkar with “Under her Spell: Roberto Rossellini in India”. Set in 1950 in India around the Bombay elite, it features Rossellini’s passage through the films. And is slated for release this month.

But wait, the best has just come. Salman Rushdie’s latest is likely to be the page-turner that everybody has been waiting for this year.

Away from the scrutiny of the clerics, and intrusions of the paparazzi, Rushdie has put together “The Enchantress of Florence”. It is a many layered work.

Also back is Ananda Mukherjee with “A House in the Old Style”. A lyrical novel from the author of “And Where My Friend Lay You Hiding”, it is said to be an understated story of the pleasures and disappointments of an old-fashioned family.

As is Paro Anand whose novel “Weed” is again based in Kashmir and talks of the innocence of a child caught in a web spun by others. Meanwhile, as long as authors busily spin their webs of words, readers will be happy to be enmeshed.

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