Session 4: Publishing houses of the Future.

Session Four

Seven panelists from diverse backgrounds took the stage for the session on “Publishing Houses of the Future”.

Nilanjana Roy, a Delhi-based literary columnist and critic chaired this session and also addressed a previous discussion on whether print books would die, saying it is instinctive for us to turn back to paper in publishing. Atiya Zaidi, a publisher, said that publishing has a bright future especially in the education sector due to the need for textbooks in schools. Payal Kumar of SAGE Publications India, pointed out that all mechanisms in publishing houses are computerized, making work easier. Tremendous change has been observed. According to her, Publishers should catch up with technological advancements while taking stakeholders along. Sunil Patki, a Strategy and Business planning consultant felt the need for alot of training and understanding in terms of content published. Ulhas Latkar of Ameya Prakashan, Pune shared his experiences in independently publishing in regional languages. Trisha Gupta spoke from the perspective of a reader and put forth her views to the audience. Ramu Ramanathan, editor of PrintWeek India shared his opinions on the publishing scene while being a staunchly pro-books individual.

The session concluded with questions from the audience.