Four Indian publishers and a distribution collective
Shalimar books stocks and distributes a large number of Indian publishers in the UK. We would like to focus on four which are doing essential work. Here they describe their aims:
Three Essays Collective focuses on works of scholarship, which touch upon issues of contemporary concern. They address a wide range of themes in history, politics, culture, education and media. South Asian themes predominate, but do not exhaust the scope of these publications. The endeavour is to familiarize readers with the current debates in their respective fields, while enlarging the field of enquiry.
Many of our books have interrogated sectarian conflict, religious fundamentalism and imperialism. While history remains an important theme, livelihood issues, especially those related to agricultural policies, have also found a place among our titles. We look forward to broadening our focus to include books on urban history and culture in the coming years.
Tulika Books is an independent publisher of scholarly and academic books in the humanities and social sciences, with a broad left and democratic perspective. Publishing since 1995, Tulika specializes in subject areas such as archaeology, architecture, art, critical theory, culture studies, development studies, economics, film studies, history, literary theory, politics, philosophy and sociology.
Women Unlimited, a non-profit trust, is an associate of Kali for Women, India’s first and oldest feminist press (established in 1984), which publishes scholarly and academic books in the social sciences; fiction; general interest non-fiction; autobiography and memoirs; books for young adults; pamphlets and monographs; and activist material. They explore new issues, anticipate trends, develop new perspectives and offer the best of feminist scholarship, activist material and creative writing, in India and South Asia.
These three publishers are all partners of IPD Alternatives:-
The Independent Publishers’ Distribution Alternatives, or IPD Alternatives, is a partnership of eight independent Indian publishers, formed in response to the globalisation of publishing and its domination by a handful of conglomerates in the global North and West that has had a ripple effect on small and medium independent publishers everywhere. In India, liberalisation of the economy and foreign direct investment means indigenous publishers are being pushed to the margins by the entry of multinational corporate publishing houses.
IPD Alternatives is a collaborative marketing and distribution initiative, aimed at achieving the widest possible exposure and distribution of books published by independent publishers. It seeks to redress the lack of visibility of independent publishing in India by using both mainstream channels and alternative networks for the dissemination of these books. IPD Alternatives also seeks to promote independent publishing in India by developing new, alternative markets.
The fourth publisher in this profile is Yoda Press –
Yoda Press is an independent publishing venture based in New Delhi. With a view to developing dynamic non-fiction lists, both academic as well as popular, this young venture is currently focusing its attention on areas like urban studies, sexuality and the body, gender, cinema, contemporary art and popular culture, and new perspectives in history. In doing so, the larger Yoda Press list hopes to effectively capture the non-mainstream, alternative, yet critical reality of contemporary India.
Together, these publishers are providing a progressive voice on the many issues of concern in India today, and we are proud to be associated with them.
