Penguin Random House announces imprint for publishing in Indian languages

Penguin Random House India (PRHI) on Monday announced the launch of a new imprint, 'Penguin Swadesh', dedicated to publishing books in various Indian languages.

The imprint will focus on exploring literature in various Indian languages and making English language books more widely available through translations. It boasts a diverse and vibrant list of originals and translations written by renowned authors and debut writers, a press release stated.

"Penguin Swadesh is deeply emblematic of our commitment to Indian languages. With this imprint, we bring in the best of both World and Indian literature, in a way reducing the spaces between states and cultures. We are very enthused about bringing to the forefront, voices that have hitherto remained confined to their geographies," said Vaishali Mathur, publisher of PRHI's 'The Indian Languages Publishing' (ILP) division.

With a specific focus on Hindi and Marathi, the imprint aims to introduce 50 fresh titles annually and built an extensive collection of over 450 titles in a diverse range of genres -- including literary fiction, non-fiction, popular fiction, self-help and mind-body-spirit, business books, and children's literature.

Within the publishing division lies a repository of literary masterpieces crafted by renowned authors such as Munshi Premchand, Amrita Pritam, Acharya Chatursen Shastri, Krish Chander, Gurudutt, Dutt Bharti, Narendra Kohli, Mulk Raj Anand and Surendra Mohan Pathak, among others.

"We add this imprint with great confidence to enrich our readers' reading experiences and build an inspiring catalogue that will be a testament to our country's diverse cultural and literary background," said Nandan Jha, executive vice-president (product, sales and business development) at PRHI.