The Penguin Annual Lecture, hosted by leading publisher Penguin Random House, took place at a packed Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi on December 26. UNICEF Ambassador and internationally acclaimed superstar Priyanka Chopra delivered a stupendous lecture on “Breaking the Glass Ceiling”.

Priyanka began the talk explaining how she doesn’t like the phrase “breaking the glass ceiling”. Her father would ask her why she wants to fit inside a glass slipper when she could be breaking the glass ceiling but she didn’t want to go find something an break it, she simply wanted to be the best version of herself.

The actress listed out 12 golden rules which were a combination of guidelines and advice on how to break the glass ceiling. Her first point was “there’s only one you”, and she advised everyone to embrace it in entirety and to have the confidence in oneself. The second was to learn to recognise opportunities in life and that one should take every opportunity you get and work hard at whatever one undertook. Priyanka mentioned that she has succeeded in various ventures only because she “worked hard and squeezed every drop out of those opportunities.”

Her first few rules emphasised being open to new ideas, being ambitious, being brave enough to take risks to peruse them and working hard in whatever one did despite failure. She peppered the pep talk with examples of how she applied what she advised.

“When something I’ve invested my heart and soul, which I do with everything I put my mind to, if that fails I don’t just wallow in self pity… But then I get up, cry a little, dust myself off and dive straight back into life because the only way to push failure aside is to move ahead.”
Some of the guidelines were on confidence, ambition and other traits for personal success but the last few were more on relations. She emphasised the importance of a support system and the need to be take the lid off once in a while. Priyanka implored the necessity to be kind and giving in today’s age. She ended with the advise to never forget one’s roots.

The Penguin Annual Lecture, hosted by Penguin Random House India, was started in 2007 as an initiative to bring leading writers, artists, thinkers and key personalities from India and across the world in direct contact with audiences and admirers in India. 2017 marked the eleventh edition of the Penguin Annual Lecture. Over the past ten years, speakers have included thought leaders like the Dalai Lama, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, Professor Amartya Sen, and beloved authors from both India and abroad like Dan Brown, Jeff Kinney and Ruskin Bond.

[Timesofindia]

PRESS RELEASE

PRH, in collaboration with Ravi Subramanian, will select the best thriller stories submitted as part of a contest, beginning from 25th October till 25th December, 2017. These stories will then become part of a one-of-a-kind anthology of thrillers, to be published in 2018. The contest is open for all and the submissions will be judged based on twists and the reader-is-hooked way thrillers have a penchant for.

Ravi Subramanian states, “India doesn’t lack good thriller writers, what it lacks is exposure for good thriller writers. With this anthology we expect to change that. By giving a voice to a number of good thriller writers, I am hoping to make a difference to the thriller genre in this country.”

Editor-in-Chief at PRH, Milee Ashwarya comments, “’Ravi Subramanian is a master craftsman of thrillers with a knack for making complex plots engaging and entertaining. I can’t think of anyone else who can curate the collection of the best thriller writing from India. This sure is going to be treat for all readers.”

Ravi Subramanian, an alumnus of IIM Bangalore, has spent two decades working his way up the ladder of power in the amazingly exciting and adrenaline-pumping world of global banks in India. It is but natural that his stories are set against the backdrop of the financial services industry. He lives in Mumbai with his wife, Dharini, and daughter, Anusha.

In 2008, his debut novel, If God Was a Banker, won the Golden Quill Readers’ Choice Award. The Incredible Banker won him the Economist Crossword Book Award in 2012. Deemed “The John Grisham of banking” by Wall Street Journal for his book Bankerupt, his use of the futuristic virtual currency in the plot of God is a Gamer was applauded by the world which runs on adrenaline-by-reading. His latest thriller, In the name of God, “has established a benchmark in the world of suspense thrillers”, according to The Times of India.

To know more about Ravi visit www.ravisubramanian.in or email him at info@ravisubramanian.in. To connect with him, log on to Facebook at www.facebook.com/authorravisubramanian or tweet to @subramanianravi.

PRESS RELEASE

On March 2, 2017, Pooja Bhatt in an exclusive interview to Mumbai Mirror, had opened up to Roshmila Bhattacharya on her battle with the bottle saying, “If I didn’t quit now, I’d have drank myself to the grave.”

The response was overwhelming as it takes a lot of courage for any woman, in particular, a celebrated Bollywood actress and filmmaker, to open up to the fact that she had a problem with alcohol. And that she was struggling not to fall off the wagon.

The article had women from across the country… from across the world… reaching out to Pooja and sharing their own struggles with an issue that continues to remain a social stigma, a taboo. As Pooja had said, “Women particularly are discouraged from seeking help because it’s a matter of shame for the family. We don’t share our pain or frailties, we cover our weaknesses and it becomes a cancer.”

Suddenly, they had someone whom they have idolised since Daddy, Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin and Sadak to share their malaise with. And that was the genesis of a one of its kind book that Pooja Bhatt is co-authoring with Roshmila Bhattacharya and which will be published by Penguin Random House India in 2018.

“I would like to emphasise that it is not an autobiography. At 45, I am too young to write my memoirs. As they say in filmi terms, ‘Picture abhi baki hai, mere dost.’ But I can help others like me deal with their problem by talking about my journey,” says Pooja.

She points out that it has been exactly ten months since she has touched liquor. “It hasn’t been easy but it hasn’t been too difficult either. A series of chapters in a book called life,” she asserts. “It wasn’t planned but we have announced the book on Saturday, on Bhai Dooj, when traditionally Indians have just ushered in a new year. As the Diwali lights continue to sparkle around us, please support me on this journey the way you always have through all my films! Cheers!”

Swati Chopra, Commissioning Editor, Penguin Random House India, is excited about the project. “Pooja Bhatt’s forthcoming book is an incredibly brave one, about a topic that most people, especially women, would be hesitant to talk about in India. Pooja writes about overcoming alcoholism with courage and honesty that is rare, especially in image-conscious Bollywood, making this a truly groundbreaking book. We, at Penguin Random House India, are proud to publish this book that will definitely not be a run-of-the-mill celebrity memoir.”

PRESS RELEASE

New Delhi, 5th October, 2017: Penguin Random House India is proud to announce that we will be publishing Mithali Raj’s autobiography in 2018.

Mithali Raj is the greatest women’s cricket player in the world and a remarkable sportsperson who has led the team from the front and propelled women’s cricket to the centre stage. The Arjuna award winner, at 19, emerged as one of India’s most capable batsmen with a staggering 214 against England in the second and final Test at Taunton.

Fierce, talented, and self-aware, Mithali is the highest run getter in the world with 6190 ODI runs and a batting average of 51.58. She is one of five women with an average above 50, and the first player to score 7 consecutive 50s in ODIs. She is the first captain (men or women) to lead India to an ICC ODI World Cup final twice—2005 and 2017. She was honoured with the Padma Shri in 2015, India’s fourth highest civilian award for her contribution to cricket. In 2017, BBC named her one of the 100 most influential women.

Mithali Raj’s autobiography will provide a candid and revealing look into her personal and sporting life. Not only will it be a treat to cherish for her cricketing fans, but also be a captivating story of how an ordinary girl went on to inspire real change and made the world sit up and take notice.

On the occasion of this announcement, Mithali Raj said, “I am thrilled to be a part of the Penguin Random House family and excited to share my story through them. I hope people come to like it through this book.”

Radhika Marwah, Associate Commissioning Editor, Penguin Random House India added, “Mithali Raj is a remarkable role model and is testament to the virtues of perseverance and hard work. She is hugely admired the world over for her talent, grit, and leadership on the field, and most strikingly remains a very grounded and introspective person. I’m delighted to be working with her and we, at Penguin Random House India, are very proud that she has chosen us to bring her story to the world.”

For further information, please get in touch with Smit Zaveri at szaveri@penguinrandomhouse.in or +91 95384 83633

PRESS RELEASE

An Autobiography or The Story of My Experiments with Truth
(Critical Edition)

M.K. Gandhi

Translated by Mahadev Desai
Introduced with Notes by Tridip Suhrud

Foreword by Dr Ashis Nandy

On the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary, Penguin India is proud to announce the forthcoming publication of the Critical Edition of An Autobiography or The Story of My Experiments with Truth, introduced with notes by eminent scholar Tridip Suhrud.

M.K. Gandhi wrote his autobiography in Gujarati, which was published serially in the volumes of Navajivan, and was simultaneously translated into English by Mahadev Desai (albeit some chapters were translated by Pyarelal, during the period in which Mahadev Desai was preoccupied with the Bardoli Agrarian Inquiry). The English translation was published as AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY or The Story of My Experiments with Truth in two volumes (1927 and 1929). The second re-revised edition of the autobiography was published in 1939; the revisions were a result of collaboration between Mahadev Desai and Srinivas Sastri. This is the edition that has been read ever since, and is the seed text for translations of the Autobiography in other languages.

This translation has been subject of academic discussions: both within the larger domain of autobiographical writings in India and the West as also within specific field of study of Gandhi’s life and thought. There has also been discussion about the need to either annotate the translation with extensive notes and variance between original Gujarati and the English translation or have a new translation from Gujarati.

The present book is an annotated critical edition of the Autobiography. The book will introduce modern readers to Gandhi’s life and thought, and how he came to undertake what he called his ‘experiments with truth’. The Introduction will discuss the history of the Autobiography, its translations, the history of the autobiographical tradition in Gujarati and in India, debates around the autobiography as it was being written and later academic works that deal with it, among other matters, and also Gandhi’s reflections on himself before and after he wrote it.

The annotations touch upon all the important aspects of Gandhi’s life, including key events and figures, to help readers understand its contexts and characters. There is evidence from other texts, explanatory notes and comments on the text itself as also comparison between two editions of the Autobiography. The text is also accompanied by Tridip’s alternative translations for terms, phrases, sentences and paragraphs, to be closer to the original Gujarati.

This Critical Edition of the Autobiography will throw new light on Gandhi’s evolving modes of practice and will act as the perfect introduction to Gandhi for general readers and scholars alike. Penguin Random House India will publish the book in January 2018.

ABOUT THE EDITOR

Tridip Suhrud is a scholar, writer and translator who works on the intellectual and cultural history of modern Gujarat and the Gandhian intellectual tradition. As the director and chief editor of the Sabarmati Ashram Preservation and Memorial Trust (2012–17), Ahmedabad, he was responsible for creating a digital archive—the Gandhi Heritage Portal—of all of M.K. Gandhi’s works. Apart from a number of books on Gandhi’s life, Tridip has co-edited the critical annotated edition of Hind Swaraj, translated Narayan Desai’s four-volume biography of Gandhi, My Life Is My Message, and translated the four-volume epic Gujarati novel, Sarasvatichandra. He is the series editor of Gandhi Studies for Orient Blackswan and has been Guest Fellow at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla. Tridip was honoured with the Katha Award (1999) and the Sahitya Akademi Award (2010).

Tridip is presently translating the diaries of Manu Gandhi, covering the period between 1942 and 1948, compiling a series ‘Letters to Gandhi’—of unpublished correspondence to Gandhi—and working on an eight-volume compendium of testimonies of the indigo cultivators of Champaran. Tridip lives in Ahmedabad.

PRESS RELEASE

Penguin Random House India is tying up with Pocket Aces to bring out the highly popular web series Little Things in physical form. The book is set to release in December 2017.

We usually see adaptations of books into movies and series. For the first time ever, in a complete role reversal, a web-series is being immortalized into words. Penguin Random House India has tied up with Pocket Aces to create a book version of Little Things, India’s favorite love story, starring hugely popular digital actors Dhruv Sehgal and Mithila Palkar. The book will be available in all major online and offline bookstores across the country.

Little Things, a web series created by Pocket Aces under their channel Dice Media is a slice-of-life romantic comedy series that chronicles the sweet little things in the everyday life of a young couple. The series aired on Dice Media channel in November 2016, and quickly became a hit with the audiences – the 5 episodes have accumulated more than 20 million views with extremely high engagement and watch times.

The story of Little Things revolves around a couple in their mid-twenties, who are unmarried but are living in together. Set in Mumbai, it’s about the couple appreciating the little things in their lives instead of waiting for big moments to happen. Dhruv, a Math PHD researcher and Kavya, a sales representative, share sparkling chemistry and their story is not about the start or end of a relationship but about all the small, everyday moments that make the core of every relationship.

‘This process of changing a web series into a book is both new and a unique. I am very excited to be the editor on the project of this highly-viewed web series that has been my favourite too!’, Vaishali Mathur, Executive Editor and Head of Language Publishing Rights, Penguin Random House India.

‘Our web series turning into a book really underlines the IP value of our content. We want the Little Things book to become a household name just like the series did, and no better publishing house than Penguin Random House to make this happen! The timing is perfect as Little Things Season 2 is also releasing around the same time’, says Aditi Shrivastava, Co-Founder, Pocket Aces Pictures, commenting on the partnership.

Little Things is also airing on syndicated platforms like Ola Play, and will soon premier on a popular TV channel as well.

PRESS RELEASE

Penguin Random House India and FremantleMedia India join hands to create a first-ever web series based on the bestselling author Durjoy Datta’s novel World’s Best Boyfriend

New Delhi, 19 July, 2017: Penguin Random House India, India’s largest English language trade publisher is thrilled to collaborate with FremantleMedia India to produce a brand new web series, World`s Best Boyfriend written by Durjoy Datta. World’s Best Boyfriend is a heart-touching story about love, friendship, betrayal and hatred that exists between the two central characters. This is the first web series partnership between FremantleMedia India and a publishing house in the country.

The web series will launch in December on FremantleMedia’s YouTube and Facebook simultaneously.

World’s Best Boyfriend is an interesting story spread across the world of two teens, Dhruv and Aranya and is a complete package defining love, friendship, betrayal Commenting on the launch, Durjoy Datta said, “I’m super stoked. The book resonated with a lot of my readers and I am sure this series would make the story reach out to a lot more people. I am positive that FremantleMedia will do a great job of it.”

Ron Crasto, SVP, Branded Entertainment & Digital Partnership, FremantleMedia India said, “We are delighted to be working with Penguin Random House and Durjoy Datta to bring this coming of age story about the emotions of young love to life. With captivating characters and relatable themes, we’re looking forward to attracting fans of the bestselling novel to our series as well as engaging new digital audiences.”

Rukun Kaul, Head – Digital, Penguin Random House India said, “We’re thrilled to be partnering with FremantleMedia on one of Durjoy’s bestselling books. We’re hopeful that his work will speak to the digital audiences just as poignantly as it speaks to his readers.”
FremantleMedia India, which is responsible for producing shows such as India’s Got Talent and Indian Idol, recently ventured into the digital space with its web series Confessions – It’s Complicated.

About Penguin Random House India

Penguin Random House India is the subcontinent’s largest English language trade publisher. The company publishes over 250 new titles every year and has an active backlist of 3000 titles. With a strong fiction and nonfiction list, we publish across every segment including biography, travel, business, politics, history, religion and philosophy, lifestyle, cookery, health and fitness, sports and leisure, visual books and children’s books. The children’s titles are published under the Puffin and Ladybird imprints.

Our illustrious author list includes three Booker Prize winning novels (The God of Small Things, The Inheritance of Loss and Life of Pi) and virtually every major literary prize, including the Nobel Prize, the Magsaysay Award, the Jnanpith Award, the Sahitya Akademi Award and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. Several of our authors are also recipients of the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan, India’s highest civilian honours.

Penguin Random House India has a co-publishing partnership with Manjul Publishing House for local language translations across adult and children’s fiction and nonfiction titles that are available in Hindi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu and Marathi. Further, we are also the exclusive distribution partners for some of the leading publishing houses – Faber, Granta, Short Books, Atlantic Books UK, Canongate, Ingram Publishing Services, Pushkin, Sterling US, Egmont, Walker Books, Icon, FW Media, Guinness, Hay House, Wiley Business India, Zubaan, Black Ink and Fun OK Please – in India.

About FremantleMedia

FremantleMedia creates, produces and distributes some of the best known and loved content in the world including: American Gods, The Young Pope, Deutschland 83, Got Talent (co-produced with Syco in the UK and the US), The X Factor (co-produced with Syco in the UK), Take Me Out, Family Feud, Match Game, Gute Zeiten Schlechte Zeiten, Wentworth, Neighbours, Grand Designs, Jamie Oliver, Danger Mouse, Munchies (with VICE Media), and The Football Republic. We have an outstanding global network with operations in 31 countries, producing over 11,000 hours of programming a year, rolling out more than 60 formats and airing more than 420 programmes a year worldwide. The company also distributes more than 20,000 hours of content in over 200 territories. We are part of RTL Group, a global leader across broadcast, content and digital, and a division of the international media company Bertelsmann. For more information, visit www.fremantlemedia.com, follow us @FremantleMedia and visit our LinkedIn and Facebook pages.

Penguin Random House India
Neha Punj – npunj@penguinrandomhouse.in – 0124 – 4785682
Megha Nath, mnath@penguinrandomhouse.in – 0124 – 4785720

FremantleMedia
Hephzibah Kwakye-Saka – hep.ksaka@freuds.com – +44 (0) 203 003 6482
Amanda Hearn – Amanda.hearn@freuds.com – 07540 745 492

Penguin Random House India is delighted to announce the publication of the Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s book, which is dedicated to the youth, both in India and across the world.

This book, it may be added, is the first of its kind by a serving prime minister. It will cover many aspects that students can relate to, especially with regard to the crucial Class X and XII examinations. Through the book, the prime minister hopes to become a friend to the students, supporting them as they prepare for the examinations. PM Modi addresses core issues like overcoming exam stress, keeping one’s composure during exams and even what to do after the exams are over! The tone and tenor of the work is informal and conversational. The book clearly states why it is important to prioritize knowledge over marks, and how to take responsibility for the future.

Parents and teachers of students who are or will be appearing for examinations will also find this work very relatable.

The idea for the book came from the prime minister himself. It may be recalled that before the board examinations, the prime minister shares a special ‘Mann Ki Baat’ with the youth, where he deals with these issues. In the wake of the excellent response to that, PM Modi decided to compile those thoughts, complementing them with some unique new insights and anecdotes, in the form of a book.

‘I have chosen to write on a subject that is close to my heart, and one that is fundamental to my vision for a youth-driven and youth-led tomorrow,’ said Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Bluekraft Digital Foundation, a non-for-profit organization, will be the technology and knowledge partner for the book. Bluekraft has been running a campaign called ‘De-stressing Our Children’ that aims at pioneering techno-social innovations to reduce the ever-increasing levels of stress in the lives of children. Bluekraft will contribute towards integrating many technological innovations to extend the reach and interactivity of this book—a powerful social innovation in itself. Children will not only be able to individually imbibe the contents of the book but will also be able to collaborate with each other through technology, not just locally but globally, and share their own unique ideas, experiences, learnings and experiments.

Gaurav Shrinagesh, CEO Penguin Random House India, said on this occasion, ‘We are delighted to publish Prime Minister Modi to take his message to the youth of our country. With his vision for ensuring their success he has put India on a path of change and we at Penguin Random House India are excited to be working together to bring his thoughts to the nation and beyond.’

Milee Ashwarya, editor-in-chief for the commercial and business divisions at Penguin Random House India and the publisher of the book, said, ‘In a rare and unique initiative, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to directly address the state of the students through this book. We are proud to be a part of this special journey to help him reach out to millions of students in India and across the world. I feel deeply honoured that he has chosen us to be a part of his publishing endeavour.’

The book is scheduled for publication later this year, and will be published in multiple languages.

The only account of the landmark case that disqualified Indira Gandhi as PM

On 12 June 1975, for the first time in independent India’s history, the election of a prime minister was set aside by a High Court judgment. The watershed case, Indira Gandhi v. Raj Narain, acted as the catalyst for the imposition of the Emergency. Based on detailed notes of the court proceedings, The Case That Shook India is both a legal and a historical document of a case that decisively shaped India’s political destiny.

The author, advocate Prashant Bhushan, sets out to reveal the goings-on inside the court as well as the manoeuvrings outside it, including threats, bribes and deceit. Providing a blow-by-blow account, he vividly recreates courtroom scenes. As the case goes to the Supreme Court, we see how a ruling government can misuse legislative power to save the PM’s election.

Through his forceful and gripping narrative, Bhushan offers the reader a front-row seat to watch one of India’s most important legal dramas unfold.

AUTHOR BIO

Prashant Bhushan is an eminent public interest lawyer in the Supreme Court of India, most known for cases such as 2G and Coal Scam. He is also an activist and a founder member of Swaraj Abhiyan—a campaign organization that focuses on various issues such as the environment, human rights, corruption and good governance. He was a prominent member of the group India Against Corruption (IAC) and worked alongside Anna Hazare for the implementation of the Jan Lokpal Bill (Citizen’s Anti-corruption Ombudsman Bill).

PRESS RELEASE

Gurmehar Kaur has a story to tell. But it’s not the story you think it is.

Small Acts of Freedom is a deeply personal work of nonfiction by Gurmehar Kaur that tells the story of three generations of strong single women in her own family. ‘When people ask me where I gather strength from, I cannot just point at one incident. My story does not start with me,’ says Kaur. Telling the tale of three passionate women (her grandmother, her mother and herself) who have faced the world on their own terms, the book’s unusual narrative structure crisscrosses elegantly between past and present, spanning 70 years from 1947 to 2017.

Small Acts of Freedom is a story of courage. It’s a story of resilience, strength and love. From her grandmother who came to India from Lahore after Partition to the whirlwind romance between Kaur’s parents, from her father’s state funeral to her harrowing experiences since her days of student activism, Kaur’s book is about the fierceness of love, the power of family, and the little acts that beget big revolutions.

‘Gurmehar Kaur is that rare creature that cannot be boxed into a single definition. She’s brave and beautiful and kind and thoughtful. At the same time, she’s also a young woman with dreamy eyes and a lilting laugh, just as overjoyed by a cheesy film as she is by a literary novel, just as curious about the next big fashion trend as she is about the state of the nation. With this book, she unravels every notion that anyone might have about her: the martyr’s daughter, the student activist, the online campaigner, the peace protester. She’s all of that, yes, but she’s so much more. And she’s got a heck of a story to tell. We cannot wait to publish her.’ – Manasi Subramaniam, Senior Commissioning Editor, Penguin Random House India.

‘Growing up in a family where courage and valour course through everyday life, Gurmehar has come to embody the integrity that the generations before her have impressed upon her, in words and in deeds. We are delighted to be sharing Gurmehar Kaur’s unique, special voice with the world.’ – Meru Gokhale, Editor-in-Chief, Literary Publishing, Penguin Random House India.

In February 2017, Gurmehar Kaur, a nineteen-year-old English Literature student at Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi, joined a peaceful campaign after violent clashes at Delhi University’s Ramjas College. As part of the campaign, Kaur’s post (pictured here) made her the target of an onslaught of social media vitriol, including death threats, rape threats and furious commentary from people ranging from politicians to cricketers, actors to media influencers.

Also back in the spotlight was Kaur’s April 2016 video campaign for peace, in which Kaur, the daughter of a Kargil martyr, held up a placard saying, ‘Pakistan did not kill my dad, war killed him.’ Suddenly a focal point for the entire nationalism debate, Kaur found herself under fire from innumerable sources online and offline.

Facing a trial by social media, Kaur almost retreated into herself. But she was never brought up to be silenced. ‘Real bullets killed my father. Your hate bullets are deepening my resolve. Your idea of nationalism is bogus,’ she writes in her essay on online harassment in the Hindustan Times.

‘Overnight, I was an antinational. And I did not know why. I did not know why I was being called Kargil martyr’s daughter — of course he is my father and I am immensely proud of that identity, but that was not the matter of concern at that point of time. I am a student of Delhi University, and restraining my right to speech by violence curbs my existence as a human being.’ – Gurmehar Kaur in an interview on FirstPost.

Today, Kaur is doubly determined not to be silent. Small Acts of Freedom is her story.