The London Book Fair 2017 to host “Spotlight on India”

-Series of events to celebrate UK-India Year of Culture

The 2017 edition of London Book Fair will feature a special Spotlight on India series of events. The series coincides with the British Council’s India Year of Culture 2017 initiative, which will see an exciting festival of events to celebrate the country’s vibrant culture and history. This comes on heels of the year long programme announced by the Prime Ministers of both India and the UK during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the UK in 2016 to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Indian independence and UK cultural ties.

Together, the London Book Fair and Capexil will stage an exhibiting presence over three pavilions for nearly 40 exhibitors, showcasing the global importance of India’s publishing industry. As part of the Spotlight, the London Book Fair is also helping Indian publishers access content from UK publishers at the DIT International Business Lounge. The enhanced Indian exhibit at this year’s Fair, which also features Ingram Content Group as partner, will highlight the importance of India’s digital innovation in particular.

Major highlights of the ‘Spotlight on India’

• 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. The discussion will focus on the following aspects: Regulatory Framework for entering Indian publishing sector; Laws governing sector/ legal requirements; IPR framework with special focus on copyrights; Investment opportunities; and Ease of doing business.
• A celebration of the 60th anniversary of the National Book Trust of India.
• A Symposium on Indian Writing Today featuring discussions from a delegation of authors from the Sahitya Akademi, including Arundhati Subramaniam, Yeshe Dorji Thongchi, Dr. S.L. Bhyrappa, Kula Saikia and B. Jayamohan.
• My World, My Writing: Readings by Indian Authors – a session of readings by the Sahitya Akademi authors
• An especially curated Rights catalogue of Indian writing co-created by FICCI and LBF.
• Product demonstrations of Indian publishing and printing technology and expertise.
• A performance of the Karma Sutra Ballad and 5 minute Spiritual IQ tests of Karma Quest.
• Shrabani Basu, author of Victoria & Abdul, in a discussion about bringing books to the big screen, titled Indian Worlds: From Book to Screen.
• New recipes by cookery writer and entrepreneur Anjum Anand at the Charlotte Street Hotel (as part of London Book and Screen Week).