Amazon to publish Chetan Bhagat's upcoming six books

Amazon Publishing has signed a deal with well-known author Chetan Bhagat for his next six books. Bhagat is the first Indian author to be signed by the global publishing arm of the online retail distributor.

Talking about the deal Chetan stated, “Usually, Indian authors head West to look for international publishers. It’s exciting to see the West coming to us,” In 2004, Bhagat had made his debut with Five Point Someone and has published nine books with Rupa Publications so far. Each book has been a bestseller.

The author will pen three fiction and three non-fiction titles within the next five years. The first novel, currently in its editing stage, is set for release in October. The non-fiction titles will feature Bhagat’s essays and columns on issues concerning the young urban Indian, whose voice he is often seen to represent.

Each book will be published as a paperback, as an e-book, and as an audiobook. “It’s challenging to make people read in today’s times when you can easily get distracted by social media and digital technology.These innovative platforms help”, said Bhagat.

“We want them to reach as many readers as possible across the world and multiple formats allow us to do that,” said Jeffery Belle, vice-president of Amazon Publishing.

Adding further Chetan said, “This will also help me grow my audience base. Thanks to Amazon KindlThe books will also be translated into multiple Indian languages, including Hindi, Malayalam, and Tamil, by the Indian publisher Westland, owned by Amazon. Westland will handle distribution India, both online and offline. e, my previous books are available online. At a literature festival in Dubai, I met people from the Middle East who had read the online versions. I never expected to have an audience in that region.”

The company also plans to experiment with Bhagat’s non-fiction content as novella-length short reads. In India, this content will be available under Mikros, a Westland imprint. “We’ll publish short stories, curated content from books and commissioned pieces under this imprint,” said Westland CEO Gautam Padmanabhan in a statement.