New publishing venture Gyaana Books launches first titles

New Delhi, Jan 25 : Gyaana Books, a new publishing venture based in the Indian capital, has unveiled its first books in association with Writer's Side and bookmeabook.com

Founded by Divya Dubey, a former publishing editor, Gyaana was formally launched by noted poet and writer Keki Daruwalla at the India International Centre.

Daruwalla also released Friday Gyaana's first list comprising "Of Wooing, Woes and Wanderings," a fiction, by Amitabha Chatterjee, a thriller "No Flying from Fate" by Saurbh Katyal, and a collection of short stories titled "Turtle Dove: Six Simple Tales", written by Dubey.

Gyaana (www.gyaanabooks.com) aims to bring to writers, whether established or emerging, a new dais for expression; and to book lovers, a worthwhile reading experience.

"To reach every educated person in the country and have the brand name recognised and respected and to establish myself as an independent publisher," is her mission, says Dubey.

Speaking on the occasion, Daruwalla said: "Big publishers are generally after big established names and their publishing strategies are mostly guided by commercial calculations. If new and out-of-the-way talent has to surface, small publishers are the need of the hour. Gyaana publishers have started with some innovative books, including an unputdownable thriller, by mostly first time authors. I wish them luck."

Referring to the dynamics of publishing in India, Dubey said: "In India, book publishing is a relatively small industry, limited to certain important cities and pockets. Trade publishing, especially, is ruled by the big players, mainly the MNCs, though certain smaller, independent ones have made a niche for themselves too.

"Zubaan, Tara, Rupa, Roli... are some examples. However, speaking from personal experience, authors, whether established or first-time, usually want to be published by a big brand name... partly because they are an established brand, and partly because they have a wider reach and resources.

"It wasn't easy for us in the beginning. It took quite a while to convince our authors to publish with us. But we are proud that Saurbh and Amitabha mustered the courage to publish with us."

Gyaana's associates Writer's Side, headed by noted writer Kanishka Gupta, is a manuscript assessment and editorial agency, and Bookmeabook.com, led by Nidhi Verma, is an offshoot of Ram Gopal Sharma and Sons, Delhi's first online lending library.