Noted publisher and writer David Davidar, who last year exited as CEO of Penguin's international division amid controversy, has tied up with Rupa Publications, India to set up a new literary firm, the Aleph Book Company.
Announcing the partnership in a press statement on Monday, Davidar said: "Each book published by Aleph will be distinctive, original and of outstanding literary quality." It will be headquartered in the capital.
"Our books will be creatively packaged and innovatively marketed through traditional retail and grant outlet as well as digital and other channels," the veteran publisher said.
Kapish G. Mehra, managing director of Rupa Publications, said the new publishing partnership with Davidar was a "perfect way to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Rupa as the new company will complement and round out Rupa's existing publishing".
"Rupa has an excellent publishing relationship with retailers nationwide. It has seven offices around the country and reaches deep into the market. So every Aleph book and author will have an excellent chance to succeed in the market," Mehra said.
Aleph Book Company derives its name from multiple sources, Davidar said. Among other things, Aleph is the first letter in many alphabets; it is a point in space that contains within it everything in the universe, as imagined by Jorge Luis Borges in his famous short story, The Aleph; and in mathematics it is associated with infinite sets in the infinite set theory, Davidar said.
{{/usCountry}}Aleph Book Company derives its name from multiple sources, Davidar said. Among other things, Aleph is the first letter in many alphabets; it is a point in space that contains within it everything in the universe, as imagined by Jorge Luis Borges in his famous short story, The Aleph; and in mathematics it is associated with infinite sets in the infinite set theory, Davidar said.
{{/usCountry}}The logo has been designed by well-known international graphic designer Ryan Massand.
Davidar has been a publisher for a quarter of a century and in the course of his career has edited or published books by noted writers like Vikram Seth, Kiran Desai, Khushwant Singh, Arundhati Roy, Shashi Tharoor, William Dalrymple, Zadie Smith, Rohinton Mistry, Philip Roth and John Le Carre.
Davidar has authored two novels,
The House of Blue Mangoes
and
The Solitude of the Emperors
. His new book is due to release in September.