Mr. David Davidar, Penguin Publisher

Penguin Publisher, Mr. David Davidar began his career in journalism and is founder of Penguin Books India. Currently, he is Publisher of Penguin Canada and also is author of the novel, ‘The House of Blue Mangoes’. He was only 26, when Peter Mayer, Chairman of Penguin, world-wide., asked him whether he would be interested in running a new company in India. When he started there were exactly 3 employees in the first year of operations and they invested ten thousand US dollars in the company in 1986 David believes that there is a myth that if you write a novel you’ll become rich, famous, attractive to women, or whatever the case may be, he feels that very few books break out in a way such as ‘God of Small Thing’s and ‘A Suitable Boy’ did, because it is only 1% who get to superstardom, because they won a big prize or it’s an amazing book and enough readers caught on to the fact If we think of the odds, there are about 100,000 books published every year. How can each of those books get to a reader’s attention! If we walk into a bookstore, and we face the first novel that appears and we have no idea what it’s about. There is so much competing for your attention. Most novels sell only about 400 or 500 copies. If it’s a good seller it will sell 5000 copies, if it won an award and got great reviews. He feels that it is only superstars that sell more and superstars are very few and every one knows who they are. The question we need to ask is why are there so few superstars? Why every writer isn’t published famous? There isn’t enough attention available for these writers. So that TV time, radio time, bookstore sales, all mitigate against every writer getting in. People normally approach the publishing house through a literary agent because they are the top filter, and a top agent will go to the publisher and say that he has a wonderful book…he’ll say he’ll read it. But if you approach him directly you probably don’t get through many of the sieves…there are assistants, there are people in the mailroom, and there are book manuscripts at the back because of overflow…everyone thinks they can write a book! His vision for Penguin India is to give India a world-class publishing company which he thinks it has been achieved. His vision of Penguin Canada is to make it the best company of its size anywhere in the world. He feels that we only have only one chance, and we must make the best of it!