Publishing: Around the World

New Delhi World Book Fair 2022 postponed
The New Delhi World Book Fair 2022, which was scheduled to be held from 08th-16th January 2022 at the new International Exhibition Centre at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi has been postponed. In view of the latest DDMA guidelines, and the requests made by various stakeholders, this decision has been taken. The fresh dates will be announced separately.

Authors Win $7.8 Million…in Fight Against Piracy
The U.S. Court for the Western District of Washington awarded $7.8 million in statutory damages to 12 Authors Guild members, Amazon Publishing, and Penguin Random House for 52 acts of copyright infringement in a default judgment against Kiss Library, permanently shutting down the Ukraine-based piracy ring. In a decisive opinion, Judge Marsha Pechman, senior district judge for the Western District, decided all claims for the plaintiffs and awarded $150,000 per infringed book, the maximum penalty allowed under the U.S. law. The plaintiffs filed suit against the book piracy entity and its operators on July 7, 2020.

According to court filings, two Ukrainian nationals, Rodion Vynnychenko and Artem Besshapochny, created and operated Kiss Library through a variety of websites and domains to offer pirated copies of literary works. 

Eva Orué Chosen as the Director of the Madrid Book Fair
The Madrid Libraries Guild has chosen Eva Orué to be the Director of the Madrid Book Fair. With it, a new period is inaugurated that spans from 2022 to 2024. As a legal and organizational entity of the Book Fair, the Madrid Libraries Guild began a selection process on November 12th that culminated in the election of the journalist Eva Orué (Zaragoza, 1962) as the new Director, a position that will be held starting January 2022.

Sahitya Akademi Award announced winners for 2021
Author Namita Gokhale wins Sahitya Akademi Award for her novel ‘Things to leave behind’. Nineteen other writers were also given the award. Anita Vachharajani won the Bal Sahitya Puraskar, which is awarded for children’s literature, for her book “Amrita Sher-Gil: Rebel with a paintbrush”, a biography of the Hungarian-Indian painter. Megha Majumdar won the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar, awarded to young writers, for her novel “A burning”.

The winners of the Sahitya Akademi Award include seven poetry books, two novels, five short stories, two plays and one book each from the categories of biography, autobiography, criticism and epic poetry in 20 Indian languages.

A precursor to the JLF2022
Politician and former actor Smriti Zubin Irani launched her debut novel,?Lal?Salaam, an action-packed thriller, recently, at an evening hosted by the iconic Jaipur Literature Festival. The book was unveiled in New Delhi by Vir Sanghvi and S. Prasannarajan, editor, Open Magazine, amidst a large number of book-lovers. Published by Westland Publications (an Amazon company), the book is now available on stores and online e-tailing platforms. 

The upcoming 15th edition of Jaipur Literature Festival, a haven for literature-lovers and festival-goers, will run on-ground from 28th January to 1st February 2022 and virtual sessions will go live from 28th January to 6th February with an extended online experience. The evening, celebrating the book Lal Salaam, was a precursor to the upcoming Festival that will combine the optimism and the sheer joy that only books can bring – and deliver a unique experience both online & on-ground.

Longlist of the 7th edition of Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize announced
The much-awaited thirteenth edition of Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival (AKLF) curated by Oxford Bookstore is scheduled to be held from 21st to 23rd January 2022. Maina Bhagat, Director, Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival, offered a sneak peek into the three-day literary extravaganza at the AKLF Curtain Raiser held at ‘The Park’ New Delhi, followed by the announcement of the Longlist of the seventh edition of Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize.

The evening also hosted a book discussion on Dr. Shashi Tharoor’s newly launched book Pride, Prejudice and Punditry, published by Aleph Book Company.

Vani Prakashan Group ties up with Jnanpith Trust
Vani Prakashan, which publishes Indian and international languages, has tied up with ‘Bharatiya Jnanpith Trust’ for the monopoly rights of the world famous publications of Bharatiya Jnanpith. The Group has taken up the responsibility of exclusively publishing Jnanpith Award winning books with the aim of making available rich and prestigious literature to Hindi and English readers across the world.