Speaking Tiger defies conventional wisdom and offers books at the intersection of fiction, history, social commentary, and subjects typically reserved for higher academia.
First, to be clear, Speaking Tiger Books is not an audiobook company. With that expectation out of the way, let me share a summary of an excellent review by HomeGrown, of India’s Speaking Tiger Books, a prolific independent publisher.
Speaking Tiger Books marks its tenth anniversary this year.
Founding and Vision
In 2015, publishing veteran Ravi Singh, while working for Aleph Book Company, experienced the withdrawal of Wendy Doniger’s book, “On Hinduism,” following backlash from fundamentalist Hindu right-wing groups. Soon after, Singh left Aleph and co-founded Speaking Tiger Books with Manas Saikia, formerly of Cambridge University Press India. Both believed in the power of print books and the tangible experience of holding a physical book.
Growth and Catalogue
Starting with 45 books in 2015, Speaking Tiger Books’ catalogue has expanded to over 700 titles. Notable award-winning titles include Upamanyu Chatterjee’s 2024 JCB Prize for Literature winner “Lorenzo Searches for the Meaning of Life,” Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar’s “The Adivasi Will Not Dance,” Namita Gokhale’s “Life on Mars,” and Enrique Vila-Matas’ “Vampire in Love.”
Defying Conventional Wisdom
Speaking Tiger defies conventional wisdom and offers books at the intersection of fiction, history, social commentary, and subjects typically reserved for higher academia. The publisher takes editorial risks by introducing international authors to India and promoting hard-selling genres like short fiction and poetry.
International Fiction and Diverse Voices
With a strong roster of writers from South-East Asia and Africa, Speaking Tiger fills a significant gap in India’s literary landscape, Speaking Tiger promotes an eclectic mix of literary fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and reportage that might otherwise remain unseen in an increasingly commercialised publishing scene.
Per the report, Speaking Tiger books publishes primarily in English. “Our list comprises fiction, non-fiction, poetry and drama from South Asia and the rest of the world, with a strong emphasis on new voices and diversity.“
Speaking Tiger Books has a children’s imprint, delightfully titled Talking Cub, launched in January 2018.
Visit the Speaking Tiger Books website.
Read the full essay from HomeGrown.
This post first appeared in the TNPS LinkedIn newsfeed.
