Over three remarkable days, Penguin Presents The White Owl Literature Festival and Book Fair unfolded as a vibrant confluence of literature, culture, and dialogue, reaffirming its place as the premier literary festival of the Northeast. Bringing together celebrated authors, thought leaders, artists, and readers, the festival championed the transformative power of storytelling and its ability to foster conversations that are both urgent and timeless.

A Festival of Thought and Discourse

The festival opened on an inspiring note, with the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Nagaland Neiphiu Rio highlighting literature’s pivotal role in preserving culture, igniting imagination, and fostering dialogue. A moving choral performance set the stage for an event that was as much about voices as it was about listening.

From the very first session, discussions traversed the landscapes of identity, heritage, and the evolution of storytelling. Whether exploring personal legacies, the moral complexities that shape narratives, or the interplay between history and migration, each panel left audiences with a wealth of reflection. The event brought forth diverse conversations, from the legacies of cricket—featuring legendary wicketkeeper Syed Kirmani in discussion with journalist Aditya Iyer—to the evolving dynamics of work, featuring Penguin author and Tech Mahindra’s CPO Richard Lobo alongside and the CEO of Chabou & Co and the Niathu Group Rajiv Ranjan in conversation with Deepthi Talwar, Executive Editor, Penguin.

Bestselling author Durjoy Datta was joined by debut writer Subi Taba, JCB Prize-shortlisted Daribha Lyndem, and journalist Gargi Rawat to offer insights into breaking through in publishing. Meanwhile, a lively conversation on literature and cinema saw storytellers navigate the intersection of frames and pages, underscoring how narratives remain our most powerful currency across mediums.

In the session Worlds Across Worlds, Turkish Ambassador and Penguin author Firat Sunel joined writers Somi L. Roy, Jahnavi Barua, and Mamang Dai in conversation with Avinuo Kire to discuss how literature transcends borders. They explored how stories rooted in history and place resonate with readers across geographies, underscoring the growing global interest in narratives from the Northeast and beyond.”

A Celebration of Food, Romance, and Children’s Literature

Food and storytelling found a delightful intersection in a panel featuring Rohini Rana, a food historian and author, Alemjungla Jamir, founder of Naga Bowl Express, and Nilanjan Bhattacharya, filmmaker and documentarian, in conversation with Rituparna Patgiri, sociologist and co-founder of The Kitchen Scholars. The discussion explored how cuisine carries history, memory, and identity, with each dish offering a story of its own.

In another engaging session, romance—one of literature’s most beloved genres—took center stage. Bestselling author Durjoy Datta was joined by contemporary author Swati Hegde and Gurveen Chadha, a seasoned editor from Penguin, to discuss the art of crafting love stories that resonate with today’s readers. From modern relationships to the emotional depth that makes for compelling storytelling, the panel celebrated the enduring appeal of romance in fiction.

The festival’s children’s programme was a lively space of imagination and learning. Documentary Filmmaker and author Samina Mishra engaged young minds with the magic of storytelling to build empathy, while award-winning children’s author Anushka Ravishankar brought her signature wit and humour to an interactive session on nonsense writing. Illustrator Canato Jimo, along with Ogin Nayam and Pankaj Saikia, led a fascinating discussion on the creation of wordless picture books rooted in culture with Sayoni Basu, Consultant Editor at Penguin. Other highlights included a special book launch by T. Keditsu, as well as engaging sessions by Zarin Virji, Lavanya Karthik and Hannah Lalhlanpuii ensuring that young readers left with a deeper connection to literature and their own cultural narratives.

A Poignant Closing and a Look Ahead

The festival concluded with a powerful session featuring local writers from Writers Collective Kohima, a literary initiative dedicated to amplifying voices from Nagaland. Their readings, steeped in the landscapes, histories, and rhythms of the region, underscored the rich storytelling traditions of the Northeast. As the festival drew to a close, Dr. Kevileno Sakhrie, prominent literary critic, academic & educator from Nagaland, delivered a heartfelt note on the festival’s unique spirit, its immense potential, and the untapped opportunities ahead.

Beyond the discussions, the festival pulsed with life. At the book fair, readers explored the works of participating authors, while the festival grounds became a space for spontaneous conversations over local delicacies and coffee.

As Penguin Presents The White Owl Literature Festival and Book Fair wrapped up its second edition, it cemented its position as a premier literary festival in the Northeast. With each edition, the festival continues to grow, evolve, and carve a lasting space in the literary landscape of the region, promising many more stories, conversations, and discoveries in the years to come.

Penguin Random House India (PRHI), India’s leading publishing house, has partnered with Grin Books, the book publishing arm of the Grin Group, for exclusive distribution rights in India and the subcontinent. PRHI will oversee the sales and distribution of Grin Books’ titles across all sales channels within the region.

Grin Books, named after the Indian philosophical concept ‘Sat Chit Anandam’—eternal bliss, stories, and knowledge that bring a smile to every face—focuses on publishing India’s timeless stories and wisdom for a global audience. Co-founded by Rishi Suri and Hindol Sengupta, Grin Books aims to produce books they themselves would love to read and share with readers worldwide.

Among their notable titles are Ram: A Global History, a study of the Ramayana’s legacy outside India; Life, Death and the Ashtavakra Gita, an exploration of one of Hinduism’s most profound philosophical texts; and Children of the Chinar, a collection of stories celebrating women achievers from Kashmir.

Manoj Satti, SVP, Sales & Product and Division Head – Penguin Select, Penguin Random House India, says, ‘We are excited to join hands with Grin Books, a publishing house that brings fresh perspectives to India’s cultural and historical narratives. This partnership reflects our shared vision of bringing meaningful stories to readers across the subcontinent. Together, we aim to bridge the past and the present, delivering knowledge and inspiration to readers far and wide.’

Rishi Suri, co-founder of Grin Books, adds, ‘We are delighted to partner with Penguin Random House India (PRHI) to take Grin Books to readers across the region. At Grin Books, we cherish the knowledge and wisdom of India, believing these stories have universal relevance and appeal. Collaborating with the wonderful team at PRHI gives us the opportunity to share these narratives with the widest possible audience.’

Hindol Sengupta, co-founder of Grin Books, shares, ‘As a longtime Penguin Random House India (PRHI) author, I am absolutely thrilled to add another exciting dimension to my work with PRHI through this distribution and sales agreement for Grin Books. My journey as an author inspired me to venture into publishing. I love books. I believe in their transformative power and their bright future. Today, beautifully produced books are more sought after than ever, and they remain the best vehicles for taking India’s great stories to the world.’

Penguin Random House India is thrilled to announce the acquisition, from A Suitable Agency, of celebrated author Amrita Mahale’s much-anticipated second novel, Real Life. Set to be published under the Hamish Hamilton imprint in July 2025, Real Life is a profound and multilayered exploration of love, loss, nature, and the human condition.

The novel tells the story of Tara, a young wildlife biologist who mysteriously vanishes in the remote Mahamaya Valley of the Himalayas. Told through three distinct perspectives, it delves deep into Tara’s disappearance while also offering an intimate glimpse into the lives of the narrators. The book seamlessly weaves themes of female friendship, the rise of AI and surveillance, and the ongoing tension between personal aspirations and societal expectations. Urgent and poignant, Real Life invites readers into a vivid world of emotional and intellectual complexity.

Amrita Mahale reflects on her journey with this novel, ‘Real Life is an urgent and deeply personal novel that examines the ways in which women “disappear” from the world. In a world where conformity is rewarded, artificial intelligence is ascendant, and surveillance is ever-present, the novel asks what it means for a woman to seek a more authentic, real existence. It took me six years to write Real Life, and I am thrilled that the book has found a home at Penguin Random House. To be published under the ‘Hamish Hamilton’ imprint is a writer’s dream, and I feel very privileged that my book is in the hands of a passionate, brilliant team.’

Archana Nathan, Senior Commissioning Editor at Penguin Random House India, says, ‘Mahale’s new novel Real Life is ambitious and poignant, especially in the way it explores a woman’s place in the world. It is at once an existential novel that delves deep into all that we, women, ache to make our lives about and all that the world around us forces us to make our lives about. It is also a wonderful novel about female friendship, which is often unparalleled in its complexity, filled with love and warmth but also ugliness and cruelty. Mahale’s writing awes, inspires while also stings and brings you to tears. We are thrilled and proud to publish this stunning piece of fiction and cannot wait for the subcontinent to read it.

Milee Ashwarya, Publisher, Adult Publishing Division, Penguin Random House India, says, ‘Amrita Mahale has the unique gift of capturing complex human emotions in words, and weaving them beautifully in her stories. Poignant and powerful, her new novel Real Life, explores relationships between women and how their fates are intertwined. I am thrilled that she has chosen Hamish Hamilton as the home for Real Life, and I am delighted to welcome her to Penguin Random House India.’

Amrita Mahale’s debut novel, Milk Teeth, created a sensation when it was first published in 2018. It was shortlisted for the Crossword Book Award and longlisted for both the JCB Prize for Literature and the Tata Literature Live! First Book Award. With Real Life, Mahale further cements her place as a literary force to be reckoned with.

Penguin Random House is proud to unveil The Penguin Nehru Library, a definitive collection celebrating the life, philosophy, and writings of Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister. Six decades after his passing, Nehru’s profound insights and ideals continue to resonate, shaping India’s democratic ethos and inspiring global conversations on nation-building and social progress.

A tireless advocate for democratic values, civil liberties, and institutional development, Nehru’s foundational ideas continue to underpin modern India’s vibrant democracy. His vision for India and the world, expressed through his writings on democracy, secularism, global politics, and social justice, among others, remains remarkably relevant decades after his passing. The Penguin Nehru Library preserves his influential works, offering a vital resource to understand and engage with Nehru’s ideas that defined modern India’s trajectory.

This carefully curated collection brings together his most influential works, including letters, articles, and other writings, offering an invaluable resource for readers and scholars alike. These works reflect Nehru’s deep understanding of the world and his unwavering vision for India, making them timelessly relevant.

Speaking about the launch, Premanka Goswami, Head, Backlist & Associate Publisher, Vintage, says, ‘Jawaharlal Nehru’s writings highlight his acumen as a cerebral politician, statesman and world leader.  His understanding of the civilizational past of India is marvelous.  The five-volume Letters to Chief Ministers opens a window to his involvement and engagement of India’s society and polity. His writings are critically important to engage with and interpret the idea of India. We at Penguin are thrilled to roll out The Penguin Nehru Library and we sincerely hope that this series will engage a wide spectrum of readers for now and the days to come.’

Milee Ashwarya, Publisher, Adult Publishing Division, Penguin Random House India, says, ‘Jawaharlal Nehru was India’s first Prime Minister, and a seminal figure in our struggle for freedom and a distinguished man of letters. His contribution towards laying the foundation of modern Indian thought, polity and key institutions are exemplary, and we are proud to launch The Penguin Nehru Library to celebrate the writings and ideas of Jawaharlal Nehru.’

The Penguin Nehru Library is a tribute to Nehru’s enduring influence and a call to revisit the ideals that continue to guide us today. Stay tuned for the release and join us in exploring the legacy of one of India’s greatest visionaries.

Kiran Desai’s long-awaited new novel THE LONELINESS OF SONIA AND SUNNY, an epic love story about two young people torn between family, tradition and their own desires, will be published by Penguin Random House (PRH) in September 2025. This is Desai’s first novel since her beloved bestseller The Inheritance of Loss, which won the 2006 Booker Prize and National Book Critics Circle Award.

Hamish Hamilton, an imprint of Penguin, will publish the book in print and digital formats in India in September 2025. Penguin Random House imprints will publish the novel in several territories, including Hogarth in the United States; Hamish Hamilton in the United Kingdom; Knopf in Canada; Salamandra in Spain; and Campanhia das Letras in Brazil. All rights were acquired from Andrew Wylie at the Wylie Agency.

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny is the sweeping tale of two Indians in the United States navigating the many forces that shape their lives: country, class, race, history and the complicated bonds that link one generation to the next. A love story, a family saga and a rich novel of ideas, it is the most ambitious and accomplished work yet by one of our greatest novelists.

‘I am immensely grateful Sunny and Sonia have found such a welcoming home at PRH, and that I have the privilege of working with such talented and enthusiastic teams,’ says author Kiran Desai. ‘Using the comic lens of an endlessly unresolved romance between two modern Indians, The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny examines Western and Eastern notions and manifestations of love and solitude as they play out across the geographical and emotional terrain of today’s globalised world. I think only a novel can get at the raw truth regarding what people are privately thinking and negotiating.’

Manasi Subramaniam, Editor-in-Chief and Vice-President of the imprints Hamish Hamilton, Allen Lane, Viking, Penguin and Penguin Classics at Penguin Random House India, says, ‘The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny dazzles with its ambition—intimate in its details, epic in its reach. Balancing critique with compassion and sentiment with intellect, it slices through the polite façades of privilege to expose the weight of familial love, the violence of class and the ache of displacement. At the same time, it is sharp, funny, tragic and endlessly surprising. Desai makes it look effortless, but this is a monumental achievement, and we are so proud to bring it home.’

Kiran Desai is the bestselling author of two novels, Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard and The Inheritance of Loss, which won both the Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. Born in India, she came to the US when she was sixteen and now lives in New York City.

Penguin Random House India is thrilled to announce the acquisition of acclaimed author and screenwriter Riva Razdan Kapoor’s upcoming novel Death of a Gentleman. This gripping psychological thriller, set against the backdrop of Mumbai’s contrasting cultures, is slated for release in May 2025 and it will release under Penguin’s Ebury Press imprint.

Riva Razdan Kapoor has garnered widespread recognition for her storytelling, with short stories featured in publications like Harper’s Bazaar, The Telegraph, The Hindu, and Grazia Magazine. She is currently a screenwriter for Dharma Productions and Balaji Telefilms. Riva’s debut film is an upcoming original romance for Dharmatic Entertainment and Netflix. Her latest novel, Death of a Gentleman, takes readers on an emotionally charged journey through the halls of power, ambition, and family legacies in contemporary Mumbai.

As a tragic death shocks the upper echelons of society, a murder investigation unfolds, throwing the spotlight on a rising star in the entrepreneurial world. The investigation reveals deep-rooted rivalries and unresolved tensions, laying bare the brutal lengths people will go to in their quest for success and social standing. Set in the dazzling yet fiercely competitive world of Mumbai’s elite, this book unravels the dark secrets hidden beneath the city’s glamorous façade. With its stylish storytelling, sharp wit, and chilling twists, this thriller will leave readers questioning the true cost of power and what it means to survive in a world that thrives on appearances.

Commenting on the upcoming book, Riva said, ‘I’m very pleased to partner with Penguin and my editor Deepthi Talwar in bringing my third novel—a murder mystery—to light. Death of a Gentleman, a book that flits between the hardy new money of start-up culture in North Bombay and the secure traditionalism of wealthy South Bombay, is a psychological thriller about fathers and sons. In a conventional society, fathers determine our identities; their surnames give us legitimacy, and their personalities shape us into heroes, wallflowers, or villains. But when that father dies, his impression doesn’t fade—this murder mystery is an exploration of the hold an absent father can have on a child, and how it can shape him into both a hero and a villain.’

Deepthi Talwar, Executive Editor, Ebury Press, Penguin Random House India, says ‘I’ve been a fan of Riva’s writing for a while, and I’m delighted to commission this smart, incisive thriller for our list.’

Milee Ashwarya, Publisher, Adult Publishing Division, Penguin Random House India, says, ‘Thriller is a genre that we are deeply committed to, and I am delighted to publish Riva Razdan as a fresh new voice in this space. Death of a Gentleman is a murder mystery that explores the complexity of human relationships, and how it influences our actions. I welcome Riva to Penguin Random House India, and hope the book reaches many readers across the world.’

Penguin Random House India takes pride in publishing the most pathbreaking, diverse and quality voices through our year-on-year eclectic list of books. We aim to take these voices to all the readers in the country, to the best of our efforts via different channels like bookstores, e-commerce platforms, literary festivals, etc. In short, all the places where you would find a reader, searching for a book.

However, we wanted to take a step forward and spread the #JoyOfReading in our local region too, to those who might not be able to find time to search for a book in their fast-paced lives or maybe do not have the privilege to buy one. Thus, as we turned 35, as part of our Penguin@35 celebrations we started taking our books to the places where these readers are…

#JoyOfReading is a community outreach program that aims to create a social impact by spreading the joy of reading to everyone, everywhere. The idea is to give away books to people across, for them to enjoy the read and pass on to spread the joy. It is also a digital campaign that we run along with our partners on our social media platforms. We have and are taking books to the readers who are offline or digital, internal or external, avid readers or first-generation readers, out of your home or in your cozy nook.

We have been fortunate to find partners to identify with our cause and help spread the #JoyOfReading:

BooksOnTheDelhiMetro : A non-profit venture, that works with DMRC to keep books at random metro stations through their Book Fairies, with an idea for someone to pick, read and give forward. We have partnered with them twice in sharing 100+ books with DMRC travelers in NCR region. The joy of finding these books was evident on the face of the lucky pickers..

SLEEPY OWL : Coffee and books are a match made in heaven, as nothing beats the feeling of a cozy-comfy corner with a freshly brewed coffee and a dear book to go along with.. Thus, to spread the #JoyofReading, we brewed something with Sleepy Owl Coffee. We surprised all their website ordering customers by adding something special extra for a special weekend. As part of this campaign each and every customer who placed an order, irrespective of order value, was given a Penguin book free to add on to their coffee experience and enjoy the #JoyOfreading. The campaign saw close to 100 books being received by the lucky readers.

APPOLLO HOSPITAL: In order to celebrate World Book Day, we partnered with Apollo Hospitals to celebrate the #JoyOfReading! As part of this initiative, we sponsored 600 books on Health and Overall Well-being which were gifted to the in-house recovering patients. The idea was to support their path to recovery with some informative reads and provide them with a friend to hold on to.. The Apollo staff and doctors went around interacting with patients, creating a lot of smiles! Here’s a small glimpse:

SALAM BALAK TRUST: Our book wagon made its way to the libraries of Salam Balak Trust, an NGO dedicated to improving the lives of kids working on the streets. We reached their libraries in Delhi-NCR with our exciting and engaging reads to help support the NGO’s literacy efforts and spread some more #JoyOfReading among the kids. We sponsored 200 books to make the libraries the place to be!

THE COMMUNITY LIBRARY PROJECT: PRHI has a steadfast commitment to ‘The Community Library Project’ (TCLP), an initiative that embodies our vision of education, inclusivity, community upliftment and spreading the #JoyOfReading quality books. We have been actively sharing books to keep the library engaging. Recently the Delhi floods caused a lot of damage to their books, and that’s where we stepped in to run a social media campaign to bring readers together to comment/like3 to show support. We are matching the likes count, taking employee gifted books, and contributing more that sum of the former as organization from the TCLP wishlist. This not just ensures #JoyOfReading for their beneficiaries but also gives us a lot of joy as a Publisher.

If you too have a partnership idea for us, please reach out to the People team.