Random House is only the latest in international publishing houses eyeing the growing Indian books market. Intent on making its presence felt here, Random House is planning to go in for publishing exclusively for the Indian market. "The emphasis will be on non-fiction," according to the group's international director, Simon Littlewood. "The market for fiction is already well-served by publishers like Penguin and HarperCollins." Random House will employ full-time editors to scout for new talent in non-fiction and to build them up. It'll be a while though, before the books hit the stands: "not before 2006".
One instance of how spoilt authors here are getting for choices on where to publish is Neelima Adhar. The author of Father Dearest, a memoir of Times of India's first Indian proprietor, first walked away from Roli to Penguin for her second book, a roman á clef on the paper's colourful family. But with Penguin taking more months to make up its mind than it took Neelima to pen her book, she's back with Roli, who're welcoming the prodigal back with open arms.
