"Our Nation Is In Dire Need Of A National Book Policy"

Aditi Maheshwari, CEO of Vani Prakashan, talks about the pivotal role the publishing group is playing in bringing out the best books across genres

- Resham Suhail

Given the diversity of India, the synergy between the literatures in the Indian languages has been enhanced through translations. “Books are building blocks of a nation and a publisher is the karigar of this wall,” Aditi Maheshwari asserts. While sharing her journey with Vani Prakashan Group, Maheshwari says, “As a kid, there were books or people working with books around me which made me think that this is the only job everyone has in this world.”

Legacy Business 

Established in 1963, Vani Prakashan, now a conglomerate in its 60th year, is the largest Hindi publishing group and the winner of Swarn Kamal. Vani Prakashan was established by Dr Premchand Mahesh in 1963, Aditi’s grandfather.

Across print, electronic, and audio, it has published over 12,000 books including the ones acquired through Bharatiya Jnanpith in 2022 which is considered one of the most expensive acquisitions in the world of Hindi literature. With expanding its horizon, Vani Prakashan Group has introduced and the not-for-profit arm Vani Foundation that is dedicated to work in the book ecosystem. With Jaipur BookMark, it established the Vani Foundation Distinguished Translator Award, now in its eighth year.