"Internet retailing of books is a wonderful development"

How has the publishing business model changed over time and how have publishers adapted to it?

The model has changed hugely in the past decade or so in different ways and different sectors. For instance, the scientific journal market is now 99 per cent digital with a substantial part funded on an open-access basis. What hasn't really changed is the centrality of authors, be they novelists, poets, dramatists, scientists, lawyers or celebrities. If anything, authors are more important now than ever as the amount of information has exploded and the concomitant need for signposts, the main one being the authenticity of the material.

A survey by Nielsen India says that India's print book market (currently the sixth largest in the world at Rs. 26,100 crore) is likely to touch Rs. 73,900 crore by 2020. What will trigger this growth?

The growing university-educated middle class is an obvious driver of the book market, but the other is the greater availability, greater affordability and greater desirability of books. Digital delivery is perfect for some information, far less so than collection, tangibility and gifting.

What has been the impact of e-commerce platforms like Flipkart and Amazon, and the onslaught of e-book stores, globally, and in India?
 
Internet retailing of books (and other things) is a wonderful development, which makes possible an efficient customer service, excellent availability, universal discovery, and a huge range of titles to choose from. One of the impacts on publishers is the need for them to improve the accuracy of 'metadata' (the information about the book, the description of its content, the availability, different formats, etc). This is wholly good. However, it is only rarely that a book can be 'made' solely on the Internet. This requires potential readers to discover the book through reviews, bookshop recommendations, media exposure and word of mouth. This means that publishers have to work harder than ever and at more expense to find promotional activities for authors.

Brick-and-mortar book stores are struggling to thrive. Do you think they can make a comeback? What will that entail?
 
Yes, they can survive and are doing so successfully throughout the world. Book selling has never been easy. It is more than a business and that is what can make the difference. The well-trained, enthusiastic and knowledgeable sales assistant is more powerful than any algorithm. Of course, if a bookshop is boring or incompetent then...

How do you see newer formats such as self-publishing, phone publishing, short-format books (BookShots, for example) and audio books shaping the market?

I am not sure any of these will 'shape' the market; the market will 'shape' the formats. What we as publishers can do is experiment, take risks, be creative, and use technology and hunch to find new ways of serving our authors by finding their readers. That is our job and, personally, I applaud many of the initiatives springing up in India.

Do you think readership of e-books and books on mobiles will overtake conventional readership in India? Can concepts like digital libraries work here?

Who knows? It will take a long time for digital books to overtake print, but that will be determined not by publishers but by readers. We have to remain media neutral and focus on what we are paid to do, support, serve, and reward our authors.

What are the popular categories of books here in India?
 
Bloomsbury, starting with J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter, a host of other authors such as Neil Gaiman, John Green, Sarah J. Maas, Sarah Crossan, Chris Riddell and many others, is clearly committed to the children's book market in general and the Indian market in particular. The market for great adult authors such as Khaled Hosseini and Margaret Atwood seems to grow ever stronger. Not to mention business and self-improvement books such as Shiv Khera's amazing and inspirational books.

What are Bloomsbury's plans for India?

More investment, more publishing and more digital. Bloomsbury 2020 (to accelerate the growth of digital B2B revenues) is a big new initiative for the group as well as for Bloomsbury India. We hope to become not only a pre-eminent Indian fiction and children's books publisher, but also a cutting-edge and innovative academic and professional house. To become India's first-choice publisher for quality authors from the worlds of academe, business, professions as well as literature.