Whose Words Are We Reading? The Cartelisation of Anglophone Trade Book Publishing and Its Postcolonial Impact: The Case of India

Abstract

Due to the global structuring of Anglophone trade book publishing, Indians can easily access books published by UK and US multinational publishers. Yet, Indian local publishers and authors often do not access an international readership nor the associated economic and social rewards. This thesis examines the contribution of cartelisation and multinationalisation in furthering postcoloniality in Indian Anglophone trade publishing. It also analyses the extent of that postcoloniality, how cartelisation has impacted Indian publishing and writers, and the role that multinationalisation has played. To meet these aims, I build upon secondary literature in publishing studies, book history and postcolonial theory. I conducted primary research via semi-structured interviews with senior publishing professionals in the UK and India. As a decolonising research method, I include my professional, personal and academic engagement with the research topic through autoethnographic vignettes. This research has enabled a unique contribution to scholarship. I found that territorial rights are perceived as normative practice within publishing. In this system, British multinational publishers claim the export markets of most former British colonies while US multinationals claim exports to Canada, Puerto Rico and the Philippines. Due to this cartelisation and the cultural hegemony of the UK and the US, Indian Anglophone trade books cannot match the revenue generation of foreign books in both Indian and international markets. Thus, India is perceived as a ‘market’ territory, not a source of literature worth promoting abroad. Cartelisation became an ingrained practice because of multinationalisation since local publishers – which aid the development of the national literary space – cannot compete with the multinationals’ resources. My research centres on India and can be extended to comparative nations. This thesis focuses on the historical context and contemporary scenario of cartelisation, but I also offer recommendations to be executed within and outwith publishing to combat the postcoloniality of cartelisation.