An untapped opportunity for UK and other rights managers seeking diverse voices.

The Khanapara Book Fair in Assam has posted robust early sales of ₹2 crore (£190,000) during its first five days, signalling strong demand for regional language publishing.

Organised by the Assam Publication Board, the 14-day event is projected to generate ₹5.6 crore (£531,000/$671,000) total turnover – substantial for a state-level fair in India’s fragmented bookselling landscape.

Children’s titles in Assamese and English dominate purchases, reflecting a nationwide trend where the juvenile segment grew 14% annually according to Nielsen BookScan India. The fair’s engagement model – competitions awarding winners with cartons of books – has proved commercially astute, driving footfall and parental spending.

Celebrity Biography Phenomenon

Titles about Assamese singer Zubeen Garg account for significant sales, with Pitrir Dristit Zubeen by Garg’s father Kapil Thakur leading purchases. This mirrors India’s celebrity memoir boom, where regional icons outperform international authors at local fairs. Over 60 Garg titles feature at the event, demonstrating how cultural figures can sustain dedicated publishing programmes.

The fair stocks 130 stalls with publishers from Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Hyderabad, providing distribution channels for Assamese houses typically limited to northeast markets.

Works by Prafulla Dutta Goswami and Munindra Baishya appear alongside international authors, though local content drives transactions.

The View From The Beach

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s 2023 reading promotion campaign underlies the sales surge, offering a case study in effective government-literary sector partnership. Free student entry has converted young readers into buyers – a model worth examining.

Secretary Pramod Kalita confirms translation plans for key Assamese titles, addressing a critical barrier: less than 2% of Indian regional language works receive English translation annually, per industry reports.

This represents an untapped opportunity for UK and other rights managers seeking diverse voices.

This post first appeared in the TNPS LinkedIn newsfeed.