World Book Fair, New Delhi 2-10 February 2008

This year should see a spate of Indian books. From graphic novels to cookbooks. From Science Fiction to Short Stories, the publishers are ready to pull out their trump cards. With a growing confidence in everything Indian, the Indian reader is also ready to give Indian writers a chance to share stories that are desi and in a language that feels real. There is no need to add a glossary of Indian words or phrases used like they did before. I agree that it is an insult to the reader's intelligence if you do that.

DNA newspaper had recently listed the books we will see being launched in 2008. It is a very rich list.

"Even as Chetan Bhagat’s book (Rupa), Abhijit Bhaduri’s Married But Available and Karan Bajaj’s Keep Off The Grass (HarperCollins) are being touted as bestsellers in the making, other books are vying for the top spot. Penguin India has biggies like Sea Of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh, Bombay Tiger by Kamala Markandaya and Lost Flamingoes Of Bombay by Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi lined up. Penguin imports, Age Of Shiva by Manil Suri, Something To Tell You by Hanif Kureishi, and The Wasted Vigil by Nadeem Aslam are also all set to rock readers. Picador lists... blockbusters in 2008 as The Palace Of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, An Atlas Of Impossible Longing by Anuradha Roy and Escape by Manjula Padmanabhan."

The World Book Fair started off yesterday at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. This one promises to be even bigger and better than the one they did in 2006 which was spread over 38,000 sq metres of display with around 1300 publishers . In 1972, with 200 participants to visit the modest display at Windsor Place, New Delhi the World Book Fair made a beginning. Expect to see celebrity authors cutting deals with publishers or literary agents trying to woo the next big literary phenomenon. I am going to see if any one of the books mentioned above are available at the WBF.

I will be around at the HarperCollins stall possibly over the weekend. HarperCollins titles will be at Stall nos. 677-692, Hall no. 2. from 10 am (don't expect to see me there!!) to 8 pm (more likely to see me).

HarperCollins to Print MARRIED BUT AVAILABLE

It is official. I am going with HarperCollins. The publishing giant HarperCollins, one of the largest English-language publishers in the world, is a subsidiary of News Corporation (NYSE: NWS, NWS.A; ASX: NWS, NWSLV). Headquartered in New York, HarperCollins has publishing groups around the world. In India they have been in business since 2002 as a joint venture with the India Today group.

I had to make a choice. After weeks of nail biting suspense, I voted in favour of HarperCollins to publish my novel MARRIED BUT AVAILABLE. After all they paid me the half a million dollar advance. Ok... now it is time for truth. Heck no it was nothing like that. In this cruel world it is the publishers who decide whther to take on your manuscript or not. So I am really excited that I am going with the biggest name one could have.

I will be working with Karthika their Publisher and Chief Editor. Quite a star in her own right in the publishing world, she has been responsible for launching many an author and novel. I am really excited about working with her. The editor plays a major role in what the novel finally looks and sounds like. So if you like what the book is all about, it was all because of me. Whatever you don't like is because of Karthika.