The Literary Scene In India Reads Well

Image: Sameer Pawar

More readers
With literacy rising, there are also more reasons to pick up a book: Improving conversational skills, being ‘in the know’, cheaper books. With all the books around, you will find a book about People Like You, no matter which group of Indians you associate yourself with.

More publishers
Penguin India, is celebrating its 25th year in India. Plus there are other big publishing houses like Random House and HarperCollins. There are independent publishers like Katha Press. And many writers are self-publishing, in print or digitally.

More prizes
At first, there was Sahitya Akademi, and one or two others. Later, the Crossword Book Award appeared. Now, the award function attendee’s calendar is full. Notable ones are the Hindu Literary Prize, the DSC Prize, Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize, and many others.

More Festivals
Earlier, events like the Kala Ghoda festival had a literary arm. Today, the Jaipur festival is an event for all ‘intellectuals’. Mumbai has three lit fests, Goa, two.
There are fests in Kerala, Kolkata, Hyderabad; and these are just the major ones.

Technology
Any one with an idea and a bit of technological enterprise can be a published author. Tech has been helping readers with easily accessible e-books on slim reading devices that allow you to control font type, font size, portability of the books and cost.