Outcry as Penguin India pulps 'alternative' history of Hindus

Novelist Arundhati Roy leads chorus of protest after publisher settles lawsuit brought by militant groupConservative activists in India have pledged to continue their campaign to purge bookshelves and schools of works they say are abusive to Hinduism, as a fierce row over a 700-page academic work on the faith intensified on Thursday.Penguin Books India agreed this week to withdraw from sale and pulp all copies of The Hindus: An Alternative History, by the US-based academic Wendy Doniger, as part of a settlement after a group of Hindu conservative nationalists filed a case against the publisher."We are going to fight each and every example of this. We will leave nothing unchallenged that is against our customs, our religion, our nation," said Prakash Sharma, spokesman for the hardline Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) organisation, one of a series of conservative religious groups in India that aggressively campaign against artists and authors who they believe malign or misrepresent Hinduism.Penguin's decision not to fight the case has worried many authors, and revealed deep cultural divisions. Arundhati Roy, who won the Booker prize in 1997 for her novel The God of Small Things, said she was shocked by Penguin's decision and uncertain whether to stay with the publisher. "So far I have had been more than happy to be published by Penguin. But now? What you have done affects us all," Roy wrote.An editorial in the Times of India condemned "the growing power of bullying... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2014-02-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #free speech #political climate #news broke #bestseller list

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Outcry as Penguin India pulps 'alternative' history of Hindus'

Penguin c.e.o Makinson to DoJ 'see you in court'

Penguin chief executive John Makinson has said the Department of Justice's document alleging... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Australia and India join ebook adoption race

Australia and India have joined the UK and the US as world leaders in ebook adoption rates,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-03-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Scholastic to close Horrible Histories virtual world

Scholastic Children’s Books has announced plans to close its existing Horrible Histories... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #scholastic children #announced plans

Penguin buffs brand to retain readers

Penguin is to sell physical books direct to consumers through pop-up shops as part of a plan to... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-03-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Pullman rewrites Grimm's Tales for Penguin Press

Penguin Press will be publishing a new title by former children's laureate Philip Pullman... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-03-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #penguin press

Leave Penguin Alone

A bit buried in last week’s iPad 3 excitement was the news that Apple, along with five major American book publishers, was given notice by the Justice Department that it’s about to be sued for colluding to raise prices. A tech giant can afford to shrug off something as petty as an anti-trust... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2012-03-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #leave penguin #justice department #raise prices #tech giant #authors guild #literary culture

NME to launch print edition in India

NME is to launch a monthly print edition in India later this year, after IPC Media agreed to license the brand to local publisher Pilot Ventures. Continue reading at Media Week

[ Media Week | 2012-03-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Penguin to concentrate on consumer relationship in 2012

Penguin has lined up a new Jamie Oliver book for the autumn as it looks to build on its direct... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #consumer relationship

Bonnier to expand into India

Children's publisher Bonnier is planning to expand into India, with its trading operation in... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Penguin sales top £1bn as ebook revenues grow 106%

Penguin has reported sales of £1.04bn in 2011, growing 1% on an underlying basis, though... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #reported sales

Encyclopedia of evil: a catalog of history's 100 worst atrocities

Librarian Matthew White discusses 'The Great Big Book of Horrible Things' and his desire to set the record straight. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #horrible things #record straight

Book review: 'Enemies: A History of the FBI' by Tim Weiner

In 'Enemies: A History of the FBI,' Tim Weiner ('Legacy of Ashes') offers a scathing indictment of the FBI, before J. Edgar Hoover and since.Each week, the FBI sends reporters an email of "top ten news stories" that it hopes will hit the headlines. The press releases usually highlight crooks... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-02-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book review #press releases