A ‘Spotlight on India’ series of events are taking place at The London Book Fair (March 14th-16th) at the Olympia Exhibition Centre, Kensington. This series is the first event to mark the British Council’s India Year of Culture 2017 initiative, which is an exciting festival of cultural and literary events throughout 2017. This programme celebrates the 70th anniversary of Indian independence and UK cultural ties, and was announced by the Prime Ministers of both India and the UK during Prime Minister Modi's visit to the UK in 2016. On the afternoon of March 14th, the ‘Spotlight on India’ series was declared open for the visitors. The London Book Fair, in association with the Indian government’s export trade body Capexil is exhibiting over forty exhibitors related to Indian publishing over four pavilions. This series is aimed at showcasing the global importance of the growing Indian publishing industry, especially its digital innovation.
British publishing industry is looking at India for more marketing opportunities. As David Taylor, Senior Vice President of Content Acquisition at Ingram Content Group said, “We’re currently investing time and resources into helping Indian-based publishers distribute print and digital books throughout our global network of sales channels.”
The ‘Spotlight on India’ series’ opening ceremony had words of encouragement from Jacks Thomas (Director, The London Book Fair), High Commissioner of India, His Excellency Mr. Y.K. Sinha (Joint Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India), Jim James (Senior International Trade Advisor at Department for International Trade), and Richard Charkin (Executive Director, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, which publishes Wisden India). Visitors can enjoy Indian exhibits from 14th-16th, including a session with author Amit Chaudhuri in conversation in the PEN Literary Salon, readings by the Sahitya Akademi authors, titled My World, My Writing: Readings by Indian Authors, a discussion titled Indian Worlds: From Book to Screen with author Shrabani Basu (author of Victoria & Abdul), a symposium on Indian Writing Today featuring discussions from a delegation of authors from the Sahitya Akademi, a session on How to access the Indian Book Market – Opportunities & Challenges, hosted by Sumeet Gupta, Director, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), featuring speakers from Cambridge University Press, Nielsen India and Lonely Planet, an especially curated Rights catalogue of Indian writing co-created by FICCI and LBF, product demonstrations of Indian publishing and printing technology and expertise, and a celebration of the 60th anniversary of the National Book Trust of India.
