Regional Trade Book Market in India: Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities
Akhil Mehta, Managing Director, Mehta Publishing House, sheds light on the evolving dynamics of India’s regional language book market. From steady sales and emerging reader preferences to the role of digital platforms and sustainability, his insights highlight how the industry is adapting to meet the demands of a changing audience while navigating challenges like piracy and taxes.
Akhil Mehta is the Managing Director of Mehta Publishing House Pvt Ltd, leading Marathi Publication with international titles and catalogue of 5000+ titles.He has kept his finger on the pulse of readers within and across the country. Whether it is translating & publishing foreign and regional books in Marathi, publishing the English titles, launching the e-book services or making their presence felt on social networking sites; all the ideas germinated in his farsighted mind. He has also been instrumental in strategizing and channelizing the company’s presence not only through social media networking but also by actively engaging in the PR function.
With a promising future and the resurgence of youth interest in reading, the trade publishing sector is poised for a transformative journey. Here, Akhil Mehta, Managing Director, Mehta Publishing House, shares more.
Trade book market for regional languages in India…
“The trade book market for regional language publishers is more or less the same since 2022. The overall sale is good and response from the readers is at par. Readers are rejoicing in new books and are also open to reading new material,” shares Akhil. “The self-help books are doing well and as in English, the major selling genre in regional language books is non-fiction. Humour books are seeing a decline and so are recipe books.”
Impact of e-books and audiobooks…
On asking about the impact of e-books and audiobooks, Akhil replies, “The rise has not impacted, in fact it has created opportunity for new readers, age groups as well as new geographic locations.”
On readers’ preferences…
“Younger generation are driving towards reading. The hobby times are limited with other media taking over, yet, reading is an essential part of one’s life. People prefer hybrid modes of reading at times, but mostly prefer physical copy,” opines Akhil.
Popular channels for purchasing trade books…
“Online is the go to platform for trade books. Amazon as well as Instagram are doing well. Few of the booksellers, who are giving good turnover, are in fact selling books on Instagram and Whatsapp more than their own websites and amazon. This basically means, people want service and a sales representative to connect and assist them about their needs and habits,” he shares.
On digital marketing…
“Digital marketing is the current way and way forward,although posters and flyers are also equally effective while promoting a book. Newspaper ads have no attractions at all. Book reviews are however the best realised method of selling books or can appeal in mass,” he adds.
Challenges in trade publishing…
“Piracy and Tax are a major burden to deal with. There was a time before 2018 where we could say the global market is impacting in generes in India, but in recent times more attraction is towards the local issues, genres and topics,” he adds.
On AI in publishing…
“AI for office work and designs are relevant as of now, especially for regional languages like Marathi. But, we do not believe editing and writing relevant even for Devnagari as of now,” he says.
On sustainability in publishing…
“The amount of plastic used for packaging has reduced. The paper used needs to be more environmentally friendly. Overall the use of unnecessary material has also reduced as more and more people are using computers, which is making things easier by reducing unnecessary waste and filings,” says Akhil.
Future of trade publishing…
“The coming times seem wonderful, exciting and definitely interesting. We are at a stage where many educated youth are gaining attraction towards reading habits. Recently held Pune Book Fair for 9 days is the prime example of it. The 80% of the footfall were youth. This was never the case with traditional Sahitya Sammelan done by local Govt. bodies. This actually proves that if we give good facilities and amenities to readers, youth will turn up,” he says.
What more?
“We need more collective exhibitions in tier 2 cities all over India. Maharashtra has seen decline in booksellers in tier 2 cities, infact in cities like Mumbai. NBT is doing an excellent job and has a great vision in coming times especially in conducting book fairs in Maharashtra,” concludes Akhil.