Jaipur BookMark 2024: South Asias Premier Publishing Conclave Celebrates Its 11th Year
Photo by : Incredible India Info
17th Jaipur Literature Festival 2024
Report by Santanu Ganguly: As the Jaipur BookMark (JBM) gears up for its 11th edition, it stands tall as the premier B2B platform for the
South Asian publishing industry. An integral part of the world-renowned Jaipur Literature Festival, JBM is a
platform where books and business seamlessly intertwine. JBM is held concurrently with the iconic Jaipur
Literature Festival and will run from 1st to 5th of February 2024.
Over the past ten years, JBM has brought together the best of publishers, literary agents, editors, writers,
translators, and booksellers under one roof. The platform has been the nerve center for forging business
relationships and fostering collaboration.
Namita Gokhale, writer, publisher, and Co-Director of the Jaipur Literature Festival, said, “Jaipur BookMark
continues to contribute to new synergies and exchange in the business of books. Our 2024 edition has
seasoned speakers and attentive audiences from across India and around the world. We shall also be
releasing our Rights Catalogue and be meaningfully asserting our belief in translations and world
literature.”
Sharing her views, Manisha Chaudhry, Director, Jaipur BookMark, said, “The JBM 2024 brings together a
vibrant programme featuring some of the leading lights of the publishing industry. Mainstream publishers,
iconic Indies from India and abroad and Indian language publishers rub shoulders to start new
conversations and infuse old friendships with new vigour. We aim to have five days of book-love shaken well
with book-business.”
Key Highlights:
*Advancing its commitment to translation and showcasing the rich diversity of Indian publishing, JBM will
release the Rights Catalogue with over fifty titles from five different languages.
JBM Rights Catalogue: This extensive catalogue, meticulously crafted by JBM, features a list of books in
Indian languages and English from various publishers, showcasing their availability for rights’ sales. It carries
detailed information such as cover thumbnails, book blurbs, author/translator details, pagination, and the
status of rights available for sale.
*Scanning the horizon of the future are sessions on AI and publishing, podcasts, and the growing closeness
between publishing and OTT.
*There are conversations focused on the achievements of stalwarts in Indian publishing, celebrating
milestones that inspire a new generation.
*Diverse sessions on educational publishing, little known stories of dictionaries, and the vivid world of
children’s picture books.
*JBM will also host an eclectic group of publishers from Germany, Spain, Nigeria, Maldives, Mauritius, USA,
and the UK, in sessions that explore possibilities of collaboration across borders.
As Jaipur BookMark celebrates a decade of influence, it continues to be a driving force in the world of
publishing, propelling the business of books towards new frontiers.
Programme Highlights:
1. To Boldly Go Where No Man Has Gone Before: 40 years of Feminist Publishing in India
Urvashi Butalia and Ritu Menon in conversation with Sivapriya R
Veteran publishers Urvashi Butalia and Ritu Menon in conversation with Sivapriya R will speak about 40
years of feminist publishing in India.
2. Sniffing the Future: AI and Publishing
Meru Gokhale, Marcus du Sautoy, Charles Collier, Safir Anand in conversation with Amit Varma
As AI storms into various aspects of our lives, publishing is no exception. What does the future hold with AI
entering the domains of editing, translation, and audiobooks? How will AI impact legal contracts and the
understanding of originality in IP? This session will attempt to read the new shapes on the horizon.
3. The Language Toolbox: Lexicons, Dictionaries, Thesaurus
Meeta Lall, Diana Mickevi?ien?, Oscar Pujol in conversation with Udaya Narayana Singh
Lexicographers are unsung heroes who toil to expand the universe of languages. Translators, linguists,
readers, and writers all owe them a huge debt. What drives them to take on this gargantuan task which is
never finished? This session will answer these questions and more!
4. Deep Connections: Podcasts and Books
Amit Varma and William Dalrymple in conversation with Hemali Sodhi
Podcasts bring a unique connection between voice and text. High-quality podcasts connect with listeners
with an intimacy that fosters trust. How are podcasts making more listeners into readers? This is a session
that will examine the deepening symbiosis.
5. Growing and How? Educational Publishing in India
Atiya Zaidi and Neeraj Jain in conversation with Ananth Padmanabhan
Educational publishing remains the commercial backbone of the Indian book industry. Some leading
publishers will discuss the prospects of growth in the current policy environment and the implementation
of the NEP. They will also explore areas of common interest between educational and trade publishers.
6. Beauty and the Book
Sunandini Banerjee, Ahlawat Gunjan, SveinStørksen in conversation with Priya Kapoor
The book as an object of enduring beauty takes shape under the discerning eye of outstanding designers.
An inspiring session where extraordinary talents will talk about their creative process and the outcome that
we get to hold and cherish.
7. The Alchemy of Bookselling
Aakash Gupta, Ajay Jain, Aditi Maheshwari-Goyal, Vishal Pinjani, Priya Kapoor in conversation with
Rahul Dixit
A visit to a bookstore should open doors to a world of magic. Bookstore wizards speak for the fine art of
curation and display. This is a session that will look at how booksellers expand the circle of readers.
8. Taking Wing: Publishing across Borders
Lena Luczak, Anna Katharina Fröhlich, Franziska Otto, Naveen Kishore, Shailesh Bharatwasi, Trisha de
Niyogi, Annette Michael, Kannan Sundaram, Alvaro Enterria, Parminder Singh Shonkey, Milee Aishwarya,
and Ravi Deecee in conversation with Arcopol Chaudhuri
This session will invite publishers from India and abroad to share information about their eclectic lists. The
perfect platform to start professional matchmaking and do better business across borders.
9. Connecting Flights: Indie Publishing in the UK and India (supported by British Council)
Gita Ramaswamy and Rosemarie Hudson in conversation with Ruchira Das
The flourishing Indie publishing scene in the UK and India never ceases to surprise and delight, as it
continues to throw up creative talents fearlessly treading new paths. There is much fertile ground for
ongoing exchange between Indie publishers from the two countries.
10. Mirrors of the World
Luise Braunschweig, Jan Karsten and Alvaro Enterria, Gabriella Page-Fort in conversation with Naveen
Kishore
Books signpost the zeitgeist of nations and seek out universalities across the world. Publishers from
different countries will share what inspires them to grow their lists and what the future holds for reading
communities.
‘Friend of the Festival’ packages that offer an exclusive experience with special hospitality can be booked
using this link:https://jaipurliteraturefestival.org/friendsofthefestival-registration.
For further information on the Festival, please visit:
https://jaipurliteraturefestival.org/
Described as the ‘greatest literary show on Earth’, the Jaipur Literature Festival is a sumptuous feast of
ideas. The past 16 years have seen it transform into a global literary phenomenon, having hosted nearly 2000
speakers and welcoming over a million book lovers from across India and the globe.
As the years pass and the Festival grows, our core values remain unchanged: to serve as a democratic
platform offering access to all. Every year, the Festival brings together a diverse mix of the world’s greatest
writers, thinkers, humanitarians, politicians, business leaders, sports people and entertainers on one stage
to champion the freedom to express and engage in thoughtful debate and dialogue.
Writers and Festival Directors Namita Gokhale and William Dalrymple, alongside Festival Producer
Teamwork Arts, invite speakers to take part in the five-day programme set in the historic and dynamic state
capital Jaipur.
Past speakers have ranged from Nobel Laureates J.M. Coetzee, Orhan Pamuk and Muhammad Yunus, Man
Booker Prize winners Ben Okri, Margaret Atwood and Paul Beatty, Sahitya Akademi winners Girish Karnad,
Gulzar, Javed Akhtar, M.T. Vasudevan Nair as well as the late Mahasweta Devi and U.R. Ananthamurthy
along with literary superstars including Amish Tripathi, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Vikram Seth. An
annual event that goes beyond literature, the Festival has also hosted Amartya Sen, Amitabh Bachchan, the
late A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Oprah Winfrey, Stephen Fry, Thomas Piketty and
former president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai.
Website: www.jaipurliteraturefestival.org
Teamwork Arts is a highly versatile production company with roots in the performing arts, social action and
the corporate world. For over 30 years, Teamwork Arts has taken India to the world and brought the world
to India, presenting the finest of Indian performers, writers, change makers and visual artistes in the
knowledge and arts space in India and abroad. Every year, we produce over 33 festivals in 72 cities and 26
countries in the fields of performing & visual arts and literature. We produce the world's largest literary
gathering: the annual Jaipur Literature Festival; JLF international now travels to the US, UK, Canada,
Australia, the Maldives, and Europe. Even amidst the upheaval and unsettling times of 2020 and through 2021, Teamwork Arts successfully
launched the digital series, JLF Brave New World and Words Are Bridges, which were viewed by over 4.8
million people in their first season. Through its digital avatar, the Jaipur Literature Festival reached over 27
million viewers in January 2021. Art Matters empowers artistes across India to collaborate by
commissioning them to create new works. The digital series Be Inspired was launched in 2021 – a series
that crystal gazes into the future with conversations on science, technology, innovation, environment and
more. The first on-ground edition of ‘Be Inspired - Festival of Ideas’ was held in April 2023.
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