On 10–14 February 2018, publishing stakeholders from the four corners of the globe will come together for the 32nd International Publishers Congress, at the Taj Palace Palace hotel, in New Delhi, under the theme Shaping the future: innovation meets experience.
We chose this tagline because we believe publishers need to forge their own destiny by creatively adapting to today’s realities while honouring the values that have always been the bedrock of our industry. Publishers everywhere face similar opportunities and challenges, and they’re finding imaginative new responses and solutions. It’s essential that we, the global publishing community, take stock, share experiences and decide where we want to go in the future.
For 120 years, the IPA has put the world’s publishers in the same room to debate the issues that matter to them: freedom to publish; copyright; literacy; changing business models; technology; educational policy and a great deal more besides.
“Publishers need to forge their own destiny by creatively adapting to today’s realities.”
Dr Michiel Kolman, IPA President
The Federation of Indian Publishers (FIP) will host the congress for the second time, having first done so in 1992. I’m very excited about the enormous potential of the 2018 Congress to connect publishing professionals and their ideas at a time when information has never been so abundant, yet trust in it so low.
More than ever, we publishers must demonstrate our role as stewards of quality and reliability in all we produce, from educational materials to scholarly publishing and trade books. Together, the IPA and FIP are building a programme peppered with fascinating international speakers who will broach the key subjects in insightful, energizing ways, and offer our audience new visionary perspectives.
All the key information, from the evolving agenda to registration, accommodation and travel, will be found on the FIP website, which will be continually updated as details are finessed. We look forward to seeing you in New Delhi!
Michiel Kolman
There can be no better place to hold the 32nd International Publishers Congress in 2018 than India, and we are honoured to host this event again.
Our hugely diverse nation of 1.3 bn people is the world’s sixth largest book publishing country, and its millions of book lovers make this the third largest market. India’s economy has passed China as the world’s fastest growing, and our book industry reflects that: 16,000 publishers producing 80,000 new titles in 24 languages every year. What is more, in terms of copies produced, India is the second-largest English-language publisher anywhere.
“Our hugely diverse nation of 1.3 bn people is the world’s sixth largest book publishing country.”
N.K.Mehra, FIP President
The Nielsen Book Report estimated the Indian book market in 2015 to be worth US$3.9 bn and growing by around 20% annually. This figure includes book imports, which are particularly important in a market where 55% of all trade sales (and about 90% of all professional titles sold) are English language titles. The lion’s share of these revenues goes to publishing houses headquartered overseas. Books in Hindi account for another 35%, with the remaining 10% split between the other Indian languages.
According to a Frankfurt Book Fair white paper, the greatest challenge for publishers in the Indian market may come from digital development. They face diminishing shelf space in bookstores, the growing question of how readers discover new authors and books, and rapid change industry-wide. In addition, there are the challenges of piracy and copyright infringement, limitless access to content, information management, emergence of new business models and distribution networks. The list is long.
The 32nd International Publishers Congress will be a momentous occasion in a stunning context. We at the FIP look forward to welcoming the world’s publishers, who will learn so much about the changing global publishing industry and India’s increasing importance within it.
N.K.Mehra