Bibliofile

Apart from celeb memoirs, the hottest item at Frankfurt invariably is new fiction titles, especially if it’s a promising newcomer. Last year, Monica Ali’s Brick Lane was all the buzz. But Penguin India’s list marks a departure this year: the majority of the titles they’re hoping to sell are new-age spirituality books. Bucked by their success in selling his last title, The Path to Tranquility, which got offers for 14 translation rights apart from a $20,000 deal from a US publisher, Penguin India’s carrying the Dalai Lama’s forthcoming collection Many Ways to Nirvana this time. Two books by spiritual columnist Renuka Narayan—Book of Prayer and Faith—will also do the rounds. Children’s books, especially the lavishly illustrated ones, too are big on the selling list.

It’s a trying time for editors heading for Frankfurt: even the experienced bookfair-trotters are clueless about which of their titles might hit the jackpot. A Penguin editor recalls when a Greek publishing firm showed interest in one of the books on her list: Sarat Chandra’s Devdas.