Q: Across the nation, we say people are reading less, but on the other hand, book fests are growing.What is your take on this? Rachna: I don’t quite agree with the notion that we are reading less.
We are still reading.The readership is growing, even if it’s from a tiny base.We might be reading differently and in different formats, such as digital readers, but I’m fine with that. It is also a fact that the physical book thrives and sales of printed books still outnumber digital sales. Book festivals are a great addition to the reading culture, no matter their size.They are a treat for any reader and a fabulous new way of being introduced to new writers and writing, thoughts and ideas.
Q:There has been a boom in book fests across the nation. Do you think this trend will continue to grow? Why/Why not? Rachna: The number of book fests has gone from zero to about 70 in a short space of time. I’m not sure if it will grow further, or if this is just a fleeting trend. Nevertheless, whichever way you look at it, we have a lot of festivals. Inevitably, the quality of the festivals isn’t always up to scratch, but no matter; it’s great we have so many of them around—they foster the culture of books and reading and that cannot but be a good thing. We might lose a few over the years, because of lack of sponsorship and the like, but that’s okay; what we’ll be left with are the better, more solid festivals. I’m delighted to see that literature festivals have come to be seen as cool places to be.There’s so much competing for the attention of the urban consumer that it is good to see literature holding its own against other forms of entertainment and culture.
rachna singh davidar is a literary consultant based in New Delhi. She has worked with books and writers for 30 years in India, the UK and Canada. She started her career with The Bookshop in New Delhi, which her family owns. She is currently the Programme Director of Lit For Life, the literature festival of The Hindu.
15
Bookaroo
“Creating a lifelong love for books” Swati Roy
Q: Share the genesis and purpose of Bookaroo.
Swati: It was in 2003 that Venkatesh and I set up Eureka Bookstore, an independent children’s bookstore in Delhi. At that time there were no indie bookshops such as ours.The idea was to create a space where children were free to choose what they wanted to read.We would only make the best of Indian and international books accessible. Over a period of time, we started holding meet-the-writer or illustrator sessions in the bookshop.This eventually expanded into other areas for lack of space within the shop. From local gardens to playschool halls to community centres, we would take our sessions to any place that was ready to host us. Looking at the hunger for more, we decided, in 2008, to create a bigger platform. Since then, the last weekend of every November, in Delhi, has become a calendar event for parents and children in the city.
Q: How has the journey been in the last 10 years and how has Bookaroo expanded to different cities?
Swati: Over the last nine years, we have consistently expanding the scope of the festival.The first foray outside Delhi was into Srinagar in 2011. Thanks to a steady partnership, we have been able to celebrate the joy of reading in Srinagar for four years now.
Bookaroo has so far travelled to nine cities and held 27 editions. Apart from Srinagar, the other cities are Pune, Goa, Kuching (Malaysia), Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Kolkata and Bengaluru. Bookaroo is the only
children’s literature festival in India to have travelled abroad.
82 bookaroo Apart from the weekend festival, Bookaroo also has a very strong outreach arm. In every city that we visit, we take speakers to schools, care homes, hospitals and underserved institutions.This is an expansion within the city.
Q:Tell us about the award you won recently.
Swati: Bagging the International Excellence Award in Literary Festivals at the 2017 London Book Fair was a huge validation and affirmation of the work we do in bringing children and books together.The achievement was even more special as it was a children’s literature festival that won the award in a general category.
Q:What, according to you, are the benefits of Bookaroo to children? Swati: It has created a lifelong love for books in all children whose lives we may have touched.We have established that reading for pleasure has its own benefits and charm.
Q:With your insight and expertise, tell us how we can develop the joy of reading and ensure children read more than textbooks. Swati: As mentioned earlier, Bookaroo aims to bring books alive in a fun and enjoyable way.We believe that there is a book for every child and Bookaroo serves as the medium to connect the two.When parents, teachers, and those who usually decide what children should read, see children blossom and feel happy in the festival listening to speakers, asking questions, drawing images, creating innovative extensions from books through craft, the idea of reading for pleasure stays in their minds.
Q: How has the engagement with readers/visitors changed over time?
Swati: Not much has changed in terms of engagement.Visitors are as keen as ever to participate in Bookaroo every year. Children who have outgrown the festival come back as volunteers to support us. New genres have been introduced in children’s literature.These are well represented
in Bookaroo. Several publishers plan book launches during Bookaroo.
swati roy 83 Q: Across the nation, we say people are reading less, but on the other hand, book fests are growing.What is your take on this? Swati: We cannot comment on adult reading.As far as children are concerned, the footfall has increased; there is greater curiosity and thirst from parents, children and schools alike.The festival bookstore’s performance yearon-year reiterates the fact that children’s books are growing in popularity.
Q:What is the role of authors at such fests?
Swati:Writers, illustrators, storytellers, poets are the soul of our festival.They bring to life characters, scenes and ideas that are written in their books.These speakers get instant feedback for past work and ideas for future work.
Q:What is the role of publishers at such fests?
Swati: Publishers are a huge support base for Bookaroo.Their support helps us curate and execute our mission.
Q:What is your take on e-books?
Swati: Books in all forms are welcome. Content is prime.The mode of delivery is incidental.
Q:Would you like to add anything else?
Swati: After ten years of struggling to get adequate funding, we think that the corporate world should sit up and take notice of this segment. The corporate world needs to take cognizance of this growing market and support it adequately for future generations.Without support, it is very difficult to create a good festival.We wish there was more representation of children’s books and literature in media.
swati roy is Founder and Festival Director, Bookaroo. She is passionate about children’s books and, through Bookaroo, makes books come alive for children.After organizing 27 editions of Bookaroo and spending 15 years in the business, she thinks there is no place better than this. She started with Eureka, an independent bookshop exclusively for children, in
2003 with her partner M.Venkatesh. 16
traInIng PuBlIshIng
ProfessIonals
“editing is a must for every publisher and required in publishing forever” S.K. Ghai
Q: How has Institute of Book Publishing (IBP) evolved and what is the student profile?
SKG:The Institute of Book Publishing, New Delhi, is the first of its kind in Asia. Responding to the growing needs for professionally trained and well-honed personnel to feed the expanding book industry in the country, the institute was founded by my late father, O.P. Ghai, the Founder Chairman of Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd., in 1986.At that time, he started a post-graduate diploma in book publishing in the first year.Abul Hassan was the Director then. In the first year, we had five students—one was a chartered accountant, another a doctor and three were from the publishing industry.
Later, IBP developed a condensed course for publishing professionals, and the first course was conducted in 1988. It attracted 22 parti
cipants, out of which 8 were from outside India.We continued this annual condensed course for 26 years. In 2007, we started an intensive course for editors in book publishing as we felt that people were less interested in a condensed course.
At that time, people thought that printed books will finish and e-books will take over. So, to educate the people, we held a seminar on e-publishing for three days.We told them that editing was a must; you cannot produce a book without an editor, whichever platform it may be. So we concentrated on the Intensive Course for Editors in Book Publishing and the 10th course will be held in May 2018.
Q:What are the skills in publishing that can be taught, and which are the ones that must be built through experience and learnt on-the-job? SKG: Editors have a lot of knowledge and the editing process has certain procedures. Interaction with the industry is essential for any course.All the skills in publishing learned in the classroom have to be refined while working. Unless they are put into practice, all teaching goes waste. In the post graduate diploma in book publishing at IGNOU, we made practical training compulsory before giving the diploma.
Q:What is the uniqueness of IBP? How does it compare with other publishing programmes?
SKG:The course comprises lectures, group discussions, workshops and hands-on exercises designed to give the trainees a well-rounded exposure to all aspects of editing.A part of the session is utilized for practical training, exercises and field visits to a printing and publishing house.The course faculty is drawn from a panel of highly qualified and professionally experienced editors from the Indian publishing industry. After attending lectures on editing skills and strategies, the participants work individually and in groups to apply what they have learnt.
The course in DU fizzled out because there was no connection with the existing publishing industry. It was only theoretical. No practical knowledge was given. But at IBP, we focus on practical knowledge.
Q:What contribution has IBP made to the publishing community? SKG: From time to time, we hold seminars on various subjects, the first one being on promotion and marketing of books in India and abroad, followed by another on sale of translation and other subsidiary rights. Besides, we also conduct short-term courses for various national and international publishing bodies, including those in South East Asia, South Asia,Africa, Europe and also recently in Italy.
We conducted a workshop on book publishing in association with Sri Lanka Book Publishers’Association, Colombo, organized a special course for officers of Educational Publication Department, Sri Lanka and
a book and sales marketing workshop for the World Health Organization
86 training publishing professionals at Kasauli.We also organized short courses on e-publishing, book publishing, book editing and designing, and an elementary course in electronic publishing. So we are contributing to the industry in our own way.
Q:What about the faculty?
SKG:The faculty at IBP is very cooperative.They are people from the industry and they don’t come here for payment; what we give them is an honorarium. It is very creditable of them and I thank our professionals for helping us run this course efficiently.
Q:What are the challenges of running such a programme? SKG:The students have decreased over time and so we are not able to take the institute to the heights it should reach.We do not get any subsidy from any source, so cannot promote and advertise the course in the media.We have to keep the course fee in line with the industry practices.We have been taking the help of publishing associations for promotion of the course. Sometimes, we get good participation from organizations like the Publications Division, National Book Trust (NBT), MBD, and so on. It definitely gives us a boost.
Q: How are yours different from, say the courses at NBT or Jadavpur, which have endured over time?
SKG: Ours is a focused course.The faculty is sometimes similar to the ones at the NBT or Jadavpur, but there is a lot of difference in the total environment of the course.There is no director of the course at NBT. But here we have a director for the course, who is present at all times to support the faculty members. In his or her absence, I make it a point to be there.We also encourage students to ask questions so that they understand the discussions fully and get the maximum from the course faculty.
Q: How are you teaching technology in publishing?
SKG:We are planning a course on e-publishing but we need to decide
up to what level we should go in technology as it is a very vast field. This is a current trend and there will be a lot of scope in this. But we also believe that books will always be there, though the delivery platform might be different. So editing will always be required.
Q: How do you see the future?
SKG: The publishing industry will decide the future. If the industry grows, we will grow. It all depends on the industry. I enjoy what I am doing and will continue to do so.
s .k. ghai is Chairman of Sterling Publishers and other group companies, as well as Chairman of the Institute of Book Publishing. He has been associated with the institute since its inception in 1985. He was Chairman, Books, Publications and Printing Panel, CAPEXIL during 2008-11. He is also Executive Committee Member of The Federation of Publishers’ and Booksellers’Associations in India. Mr Ghai has authored many books on the publishing industry, and is Editor of the e-journal Publishing Today. He is on the course faculty of National Book Trust and a member of the Expert
Committee (Publishing) at IGNOU. 17
neW Ways of
teaChIng PuBlIshIng
“aim to create publishers, not just editors and designers” Bishan Samaddar
Q:What are the skills in publishing that can be taught and which are the ones that must be lived and learnt on-the-job?
Bishan:We believe that mostly technical things can be learnt at the Seagull School.We teach our Editing students the details of grammar, language, house-style practices, reference systems, indexing, and so on. Design students learn the use of design and photo-editing software such as QuarkXPress, InDesign and Adobe Photoshop.An overall view of the different aspects of the publishing industry is also provided to students through extensive classes as well as master classes by visiting faculty that comprises national and international publishing professionals. However, once graduates begin working in publishing houses, they have to learn on their own, and through guidance from seniors, such practices as dealing with authors, meeting deadlines, and, eventually, looking for authors to publish and building a viable list for the publishing house. Freelance designers also learn on their own how to procure clients, how to negotiate fees, how to deliver projects on time, how to set up one’s own venture. Of course, at the school, we do share our experience on all these matters.Yet, a lot has to be learnt on-the-job.
Q:What do you think makes the Seagull School of Publishing unique?
Bishan:The Seagull School aims to create publishers, not just editors and designers. Every editor or designer trained at the school has holistic
knowledge of all aspects of publishing—from manuscript preparation to rights management, print and production, and sales and marketing. It is essential for those working in the publishing industry to have this breadth of knowledge, so that the decisions that they make as editors or designers or publishing entrepreneurs are always informed decisions. We believe that the Seagull School is unique in providing this kind of rounded, comprehensive knowledge to its students. Furthermore, our focus is on hands-on practical exercises, rather than lectures.This prepares the students for the everyday life of an editor or designer.This is yet another unique aspect of the school.The school derives a lot of its human resources from Seagull Books and the latter’s relationships with the international publishing world.This leads to publishers, editors, authors, translators from around the world (especially the US, UK, Germany, France, Norway) visiting the school and teaching master classes, facilitating workshops, and interacting at length with the students.As a result, those trained at the Seagull School emerge as potential global publishers—the
ir knowledge of the industry is not limited to the Indian context.
Q:Your experience in running the programme: how has it evolved— what is the student profile, how many fresh and how many already working in the industry?
Bishan: Over the past five years, we have seen that the majority of students who enrol are fresh graduates from college or university. Some have worked in diverse fields (from law to journalism to corporate management) but seek a complete change in direction in their careers.A small minority happens to be already working in the publishing industry.The courses we teach at the school have evolved subtly through our interactions with the students—by understanding their needs, we have framed many of our lessons and exercises. However, the focus remains on what we believe is the ethos in the school— which is to provide an all-round knowledge of the publishing industry.
Q: In terms of outcomes: how many have joined larger publishing houses, how many have joined the smaller independent publishers, and how many have set up on their own?
Bishan: More that 80 per cent of Editing students who graduate from
90 new ways of teaching publishing the Seagull School have joined different publishing houses as editors. It is difficult to ascertain exactly how many have joined mainstream houses and how many have joined independents.We believe there would be a 50–50 division, but we are unable to give you exact numbers. One of the entrepreneurs who emerged from one of our early courses and has successfully set up her own publishing venture is Ruby Hembrom, the founder of Adivaani (www.adivaani.org). Several designers have their own small ventures, too, through which they freelance for some of the best-regarded publishing houses in the country.
Q:What kind of ventures are your ex-students working in? Bishan: Graduates from the Editing courses at the Seagull School have been working in various publishing houses such as Oxford University Press, Sage Publications, Zubaan Books, Niyogi Books, Bee Books and Ratna Sagar. Design graduates have been working (as freelancers) for houses such as Routledge and Orient BlackSwan.
Publishers On Publishing Page 10