Interactive session on Women in Publishing Industry: Achievements & Challenges

FLO organized an interactive session on “Women in Publishing Industry: Achievements & Challenges” on January 7, 2016.

The publishing industry has come a long way from being a gentlemen’s profession to a field which now witnesses many women calling the shots at the helm. There was a time when publishing and printing were primarily considered a man’s job and were out of bounds of women. But today the publishing industry has undergone a sea change and offers a thriving career to women.

This was the shared view of Ms. Meru Gokhale, Editor-in-Chief, Literary Publishing, Penguin Random House India; Ms. Poulomi Chatterjee, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher, Hachette India; Ms. Priya Kapoor, Director, Roli Books and Ms. Urvashi Butalia, Founder, Zubaan Books, who are now heading some of the biggest publishing houses in India. These stalwarts of the publishing industry were the panelists at an interactive session on ‘Women in Publishing Industry: Achievements & Challenges’ organized by FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO).

A mainstream publisher, Ms. Meru Gokhale said that as an editor she needs to actively engage in all the aspects of publishing. An editor’s job is not confined to the creative side, but getting the book printed with the right typeset, right design and layout while working out the financials was equally important. She added that publishing is about taking risks as one cannot guarantee what will work with readers and what will not.

Ms. Poulomi Chatterjee who had begun her career in Calcutta and eventually moved to Delhi, said that she had faced some issues of gender inequality while working in Calcutta. But once in Delhi, Ms. Chatterjee found many opportunities to explore and enhance her learning. On selection of manuscripts, she stated that her publication house receives a large number of unsolicited manuscripts. Looking for interesting and promising stories, with her team, Ms. Chatterjee speed reads every manuscript that comes to her.

Ms. Priya Kapoor leads her family’s publishing business and believes that publishing is about relationship and expectation management. Her publishing house is known for beautifully illustrated books, which demand heavy investment and are time consuming. But in the last 7-8 years, the demand for the books in the genre has seen an impressive growth and now with new technology, she is able to get 70% of the books printed in India unlike earlier when 100% printing was outsourced to a printer outside India.

A feminist editor and activist, Ms. Urvashi Butalia said that her publishing house aims to give a voice to the marginalized. Her job revolves around finding authors who may not have the means to reach big publishers but their stories are compelling and must be heard. Speaking on challenges, she said that it was disheartening when authors moved out to bigger publishing houses to claim fame and money. However, Ms. Butalia added that it was natural desire for every author to look for ways to reach out to a larger readership.

In her welcome address, Ms. Archana Garodia Gupta, President, FLO, said, “Women empowerment underpins FLO’s long-term strategy and the shared values of entrepreneurial spirit & professional excellence are the driving forces behind our success. True to our objective, this programme brought together a panel of empowered women from the publishing industry, who shared their experiences and helped in cultivating our inner strength and creative power, thereby propelling women power.”