HarperCollins obtains publishing rights of three Amitav Ghosh books

HarperCollins Publishers India will publish the three books in 2020, 2021 and 2022

January 06, 2020 01:00 pm | Updated December 05, 2021 08:56 am IST - New Delhi

Amitav Ghosh. File

Amitav Ghosh. File

Jnanpith Award winner Amitav Ghosh will come out with three books beginning this year, including a verse adaptation of an episode from the epic of the Sundarbans, the legend of Bon Bibi.

HarperCollins Publishers India will publish the three books in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

The first book Jungle-nama is a verse adaptation of an episode from the epic of the Sundarbans, the legend of Bon Bibi.

“This legend is at the heart of The Hungry Tide and is also referenced in Gun Island . Jungle-nama will be published as a fully illustrated edition in July 2020 and as a graphic novel later in the year,” says Mr. Ghosh.

The second book is a new collection of essays, while the third is a work of non-fiction based on his research for The Ibis Trilogy .

“It is an account of the opium trade between India and China in the colonial period and the transformative effects of this trade on India and the world. It will cover, amongst much else, the impact of the opium trade on patterns of migration and settlement in India, on Indian business practices, and indeed the visual landscape of the Indian subcontinent. This book will also be fully illustrated,” Mr. Ghosh says.

Two of these new books will depend heavily on design and graphics.

Udayan Mitra, Publisher (Literary) at HarperCollins India, who acquired the books and will be their overall editor, says “Amitav Ghosh is a truly exceptional writer; every new book from him is a publishing event and a delight for book-lovers everywhere. It is a great privilege for us at HarperCollins India to be publishing his next three books which are going to make for fascinating reading.”

Mr. Ghosh, who had recently published with Penguin Random House, says he has had a “long relationship with HarperCollins India, which has held the paperback rights to two of my books, The Glass Palace and The Hungry Tide , since the time of their publication".

He says the legend of Bon Bibi is an important thread in The Hungry Tide and hopes the connection will bring new readers to both the novels.

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