In late 2020, the British Council commissioned the Art X Company to undertake a research study, “India Literature and Publishing Sector Research”.
It aimed at understanding the challenges faced by Indian publishers, agents, authors, translators, and industry bodies when making literature written in Indian languages more widely available to an international English-speaking audience. In addition, the research outcome included identifying opportunities for working and collaborating more globally, specifically with the UK, to promote Indian literature in translation, going forward.
The study covered Indian trade publishing and literature sectors, particularly with stakeholders that work with India’s official languages (excluding English). The aims of the project were:
- To understand the challenges faced by Indian publishers, agents, authors, translators and industry bodies in making literature, written in Indian languages, more widely available to an international audience;
- To identify opportunities for working and collaborating more globally, specifically with the UK, to promote Indian literature in translation.
The research covered 10 target states/cities - Delhi, Rajasthan, West Bengal (Kolkata), Odisha, Assam (Guwahati), Maharashtra, Kerala (Kochi), Karnataka (Bengaluru), Tamil Nadu (Chennai) and Telangana (Hyderabad) and eight focus languages (Hindi, Bengali, Urdu, Punjabi, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada).
The key findings and recommendations for publishers and translators have now been published.
The executive summary of the report in 13 languages – English, Assamese, Bengali, Gaelic, Hindi, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Welsh and Urdu can be downloaded from here.