Indians have better taste for art compared to other developing countries: Scipio Stringer

Q&A with Asia Pacific Sales & Marketing Manager, Thames & Hudson

With an estimated market of Rs 10,000 crore, India is the third largest market after US and UK in English language publishing. Despite the recent controversy where Penguin India had to withdraw its book in an out of court settlement, the interest of the international publishers is not dampened. The latest to enter is leading international UK publishing house Thames & Hudson through a tie up with Roli, India. T&H specialises in illustrated books on arts, archeology, photography, travel etc. Scipio Stringer, Asia Pacific Sales & Marketing Manager for T & H, talks to Anusha Soni at the World Book Fair.

Considering that you are dealing with books that are not for common reading, do you think there is a market for specialised art books in India?
We have been in India for some time but we have been dealing with wholesale book distributors and retailers at an arm’s length. Our partnership with Roli will help us penetrate deeper into the Indian market and create demand. About 90 per cent of our existing demand comes for professional books like architecture, design etc. Of course there is an expanding market and hence we are engaging more deeply.

Indian audience has more sophisticated tastes for art works compared to other developing countries. They are more diverse and individualistic and not easily offended.

How many titles published by Thames and Hudson will be available in India through Roli?
Currently Roli has about 7000 different titles. We will add about 3,400 titles to their catalogue. Our tie-up with Roli has been in process for some months but our books were on their shelves since January 2014.

You are dealing in illustrated books which can have artistic yet explicit content sometimes. You might end up offending some group or community’s sensibilities?
It is difficult to judge and very subjective. I am sure something would offend someone somewhere. For example nude photography can be challenging and the ‘moral’ outrage can be exacerbated by the media. But as a publisher, we are not put off by the recent events. The same publisher that has withdrawn the book has also stood by the authors in very challenging circumstances. As a publisher our job is tough.