‘Non-essential’ books emerge from 2020’s wreckage

With zero sales for almost three months, many had to trim their publishing list drastically. However, publishers adapted and actively looked for trends to cater to the subjects their readers would find useful and engaging. Milee Ashwarya, publisher at Ebury Publishing and Vintage Groups, Penguin Random House India, says 2020 was also the year when the power of digital transformation was felt in publishing like in other industries. “While some bookshops shut down, some new ones opened and online sales saw a surge,” she said.

HarperCollins India CEO Ananth Padmanabhan says 2020 was unprecedented - and specifically to the business of publishing - one when in India printed books were declared non-essentials.