The year in books: Hits and misses of 2024

Actor Madhabi Mukherjee (seen here in a scene from Satyajit Ray's movie 'Charulata'), has her memoirs out in 2025; Amitav Ghosh's essays are another highlight of the coming year; and Aathma Nirmala Dious is one of 2025's promising debut novelists.

- Somak Ghoshal

In a recent post on the social media platform X, a leading Indian publisher bemoaned the dwindling fortunes of English-language fiction in the country. Despite the proliferation of books from India, readers still prefer international bestsellers or classics—that was the essence of her message. What were Indian publishers doing wrong, she asked.

This is not a novel complaint; it's been aired for more than a decade by a range of stakeholders both inside and outside the industry. First, the culprit was the lack of readers in an age of constant distraction. Then came the woes of bookstores closing shutters. Paper prices and increased levies led to a steep rise of unit cost of production per title, followed by the monopoly of e-tailers that destroyed the business model. Now, with each passing year, the lament teeters on the brink of panic.

While it's not fair to offer generalizations based on anecdotal evidence, there isn't much else in terms of empirical data to arrive at solid insights on the state of English-language publishing in India. The Nielsen survey, which is the closest indicator of market health, is far from exhaustive. Spots sell at a premium on the bestseller lists put together by airport retailers. Independent bookshops, some of which have vested interests (either because they have publishing imprints of their own or run agencies), cannot be trusted.

Even the most desperate optimist living inside the bubble of Bookstagram and BookTube will not deny that it's far from hunky-dory. If a new indie bookshop opens in the hood, you can count on a loyal handful to dutifully show up and lighten their wallets—though the business acumen of seemingly smart establishments remains questionable.