A Novel Catches The Bus To Wagah

Most of these stories, which have travelled the world, have started their journeys from Indian shores. 바카라�Pakistani authors looking at publishing in India has always happened piecemeal, but now it has picked up in substantially greater numbers,바카라� says Ranjana Sen­gupta, associate publisher, Penguin Random House, India. Ameena Saiyid, managing director of Oxford University Press, Pakistan, att­ributes this increase in numbers to the shift in the writing genres that has happened post the 바카라�80s. Writers in Pakistan, she says, were primarily known for their poetry, but then the preferred literary mode shifted to prose, and this shot up the number of writers in English dramatically. 바카라�Global success and international awards have also played a big role in popularising the English fiction genre, and opened up prospects of publishing for closet writers in Pakistan,바카라� says Kan­ishka Gupta, literary agent.

Of course, given the restricted publishing environment in the country, all of Pakistan바카라�s fiction writers, whether big or small, have looked out for publishing, and as the US and UK markets can be quite insular, they  have made India the most sought-after publishing ground.  Shandana Minhas바카라�s first novel, Tunnel Vision, was published in 2007 by Roli Books, India. The author바카라�s account of what it is like to be a woman in a man바카라�s world just couldn바카라�t find any takers in Pakistan. Minhas has written two other novels since, both have had Indian publishers. 바카라�What is being published by the older publishing houses in Pakistan is a bit like the postcolonial last sigh. And the lack of new publishers is due to laziness, nepotism and intellectual poverty,바카라� says Minhas. This year Minhas started her own publishing house, Mongrel Books, to promote English fiction in the country. Publishing options in Pakistan are very scarce, and the English language-publishing scene is worse off, Oxford University Press being the only press of repute. 바카라�And we focus only on academic and non-fiction writing,바카라� says Saiyid. India, then, with its robust publishing industry, is the most accessible for writers there.

Inspired from a fight at home, Ayesha Tariq바카라�s graphic novel Sarah: The Sup-pressed Anger of the Pakistani Obedient Daughter also failed to find a publisher in her country. 바카라�The book challenged too many norms and might have upset people,바카라� says Tariq. These are cases where the risk involved in publishing a book also becomes a deterrent, and fear of censorship leads to authors looking out of Pakistan. 바카라�Thanks to the well-ent­renched alliance bet­ween the conservative and religious parties and the army, liberal thinking in Pakistan has been fading. Criticising the military is deemed treason and the radicals바카라� agenda blasphemy. Hence, it바카라�s not surprising that the country has become a dangerous place for writers, activists and journalists,바카라� says A.K. Asif, whose book Hell! No Saints in Paradise, inspired by the assassination of Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer, looks at religious ­extremism in the 21st century. Asif, who lives in the US, says the saturated pub­lishing market in the West led him to venture into India. When Osama Siddique began hunting for publishers for his book Snuffing Out the Moon, he did not want to compromise on the narrative, or make it another subcontinent dystopia바카라�a pop­ular theme in the West. 바카라�It has been an ­extremely smooth ride at Penguin India,바카라� says Siddique. 

Even for controversial subjects, Indian publishers are known to be more daring than elsewhere in the world. Sabyn Javeri바카라�s first fiction title, Nobody Killed Her, taking off from the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, first found a publisher in the UK. But when the draft went for a legal read they shelved it, citing libel suits. 바카라�I remember my UK editor telling me how it is such a paradox to have a woman as prime minister of an Islamic country,바카라� says Javeri. But the idea of the book was to critique the paradox, she says, ­something that she realised publishers in India understood. Cultural affinities and shared histories ensure that writers find an understanding with Indian publishers that is not equalled in any other country. 바카라�The streets of Karachi can easily be the streets of Mumbai. For me, the book is home there,바카라� says Sami Shah, whose novel The Boy of Fire and Earth was ­recently published by Pan Macmillan, India. Anam Zakaria바카라�s The Footprints of Partition is a collection of tales of the two countries after Partition. 바카라�Pakistan and India were therefore the ideal markets for the book, and given that the few publishers in Pakistan were all very cautious of what they publish, India was the best possible alternative,바카라� says Zakaria. For Siddique too, publishing in India was not simply an expediency since he was looking to communicate with the South Asian audience as a whole. And India바카라�s flourishing publishing industry ensures widespread distribution globally.

For all these writers, India is the next best option to being published at home. 바카라�It is understood that a book published in India will find its way to Pakistan,바카라� says Asif, who chose to publish in India not only because of the lack of opportunities elsewhere but because he knew his target audience was primarily in these two countries. Zakaria too mentions that publishing in India essentially means having access to both markets. 바카라�And if it does well in the subcontinent, the chances of it getting noticed outside are better. Often, Indian publishers act as agents and find publishers for the work abroad,바카라� says Renuka Chatterjee, VP publishing, Spe­aking Tiger. Many like Hamid, Shamsie, Hanif, have split rights between India and the UK, the US, or both.

India바카라�s publishing industry is an old one, where publishing books from Pakistan has been a long-standing practice. And the recent successes have ensured an ­exponential increase in interest in both publishing and readership where these books are vying for equal space alongside Indian titles. 바카라�But the steep number of books competing for space means that sometimes certain books go unnoticed or get quickly forgotten,바카라� says Teesta Guh­asarkar, consulting editor, Pan Mac­millan, India. Saiyid also mentions the lack of smooth and sufficient supply of books in Pakistan itself, and high price points, which often leads to piracy.

For Pakistani writers, finding Indian publishers is not a problem. But ever­y­thing else to do with the book after signing the contract is. It all depends on what the current temperature in the two countries바카라� blow-hot, blow-cold relationship is. 바카라�The biggest disadvantage is the way something as simple as transferring money or getting a visa is held hostage to politics,바카라� says Minhas. 바카라�And then there is the trouble of over 20 per cent taxes being ­deducted because I am not an Indian citizen,바카라� laments Zakaria. Javeri laughs as she remembers taking headache pills after disturbed internet calls between Karachi and Delhi. Mailing material proved to be quite expensive too, points out Tariq, a steep Rs 6,000 per pound. Visas to travel to India are hard to come by and therefore promotional tours, book launches and participating in literary festivals can all be tricky.

The Pakistani publishing industry is at a very nascent stage, and while all inv­olved believe it is a big loss given the country바카라�s talent, there is hardly any solution in sight. There is little to negligible focus on English literature, especially fiction. 바카라�Irrational tariff structures and no regulatory oversight make printing a real issue, distribution is quite a challenge, as is pir­acy,바카라� says Minhas. Unless big publishing houses set up shop in the country, and more literary agents come up who can help authors, especially new talent, Pakistan writers will look abroad. 바카라�More awards and festivals can help boost the literary environment in the country and the small reading audience. And something as simple as ensuring prices are given specifically to work being published locally can go a long way,바카라� says Saiyid. But there has been a change with the coming in of independent publishers who are looking to promote the country바카라�s talent, and all believe that바카라�s a rich pool. 바카라�Restrictions suggest that there is a repository of unheard voices to be discovered,바카라� says Guhasarkar. Literary festivals, new bookstores, writing and reading groups are all helping change the landscape, but there is still a long way to go. For now, as Javeri puts it: 바카라�In Pakistan, journalism shouts, books whisper.바카라�