Bibliophiles are well aware of the thrill one experiences at discovering an absorbing new book. Writers are perhaps even more aware of how rare it is for a publisher to take a chance with new writing and bold voices. Speaking Tiger Books, which started to build its bookshelves in September 2014, has been a beacon of hope for both readers and writers in a literary landscape, which has been changing at the pace of a dystopian fantasy.
So how did this ambush of tigers emerge? In 2014, Ravi Singh (who had been with Penguin for several years and also co-founded the Aleph Book Company with David Davidar) decided to start a new publishing house. He found a financier in Manas Saikia, who had been a partner in Cambridge University Press, but was interested in getting into trade publishing. Later, Vikas Phadnis, a businessman and entrepreneur who founded one of India’s largest education companies, Eurokids, and Om Arora, a publishing veteran who owns Variety Books, also invested in the company. Om Arora is now the CEO and majority shareholder.
It was Manas Saikia who wanted to call this new cub in publishing ‘Speaking Tree’ and Ravi wanted to call it ‘Flying Tiger’, so they decided to compromise with ‘Speaking Tiger’. “The name suits our kind of publishing very well, because the one thing I think we’re known for is a very outspoken and fearless kind of publishing. Of course, the irony is that people often refer to us as ‘Speaking Tree’!” says Renuka Chatterjee, (vice-president, publishing), who has been part of the team since November 2014.
Speaking Tiger launched its children’s imprint, Talking Cub, in 2016 and earlier this year acquired Tota Books, an imprint of elaborately illustrated books for young readers, in the three-to-four-year age group, which was originally started by Full Circle Publishing.
Not a boutique publisher
At first glimpse, one might regard Speaking Tiger as a boutique publisher, with its thoughtfully curated lists. But Speaking Tiger was never intended to be a boutique publisher. “We didn’t want to be just a small, niche house,” explains Renuka. “We wanted to be a regular trade publisher, doing the kind of genres which Ravi and I had always done at Penguin and Harper — a mix of fiction, non-fiction, biographies, travel, politics and current affairs. We always wanted to grow to at least 100 books a year, which I think we've achieved now.”
Speaking Tiger started with about 50-60 titles — small publishers tend to feel the ripple effect of not having a long international list. For instance, it is more difficult to get distributors to put the books out in the market and an uphill task to get bookstores to provide prominent store space. As Renuka describes it, “the books published by the UK and US counterparts of the MNCs are their bread and butter. The original India list is the jam on the toast. But we have managed to survive for 10 years, and we do have a sizable backlist of our own, so finally, we can say we are now a successful brand”.
The Tiger translates
Translations form at least 20% of the Speaking Tiger list, many of which are works that are being translated into English for the first time. In fact, in the first two or three years, it had published Baluta by Daya Pawar, In a Land Far From Home (Deshe Bideshe) by Syed Mujtaba Ali, and Smriti Chitre by Lakshmibai Tilak, for which the translator, Shanta Gokhale, won the Sahitya Akademi Award. A book we can look forward to in September is There’s a Fire Ant Right There! — a collection of stories by Telugu writer and filmmaker, Mohammed Khadeer Babu. These are tales drawn from personal experience, about a young Muslim boy growing up in the Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh, narrated with humour which evokes the stark realities of caste, poverty and religious prejudice in a voice that reminded the editors of R.K. Narayan’s Malgudi Days.
The fiction vs non-fiction debate
Readers might feel spoiled for choice while browsing the fiction lists but writers of fiction feel elbowed out by non-fiction books. Increasingly, introducing a first-time author has become more and more difficult, in terms of reviews and shelf spaces. Renuka explains why publishers have had to lean on non-fiction while keeping an eye on the bottom line — “Non-fiction, whether it's a biography, current affairs, travel or self-help, is targeted at a certain readership, which makes it easier to make a more accurate assessment of how that book is going to sell and what numbers we should print, how to price it and so on.”
Speaking Tiger’s non-fiction list comprises books that Renuka feels “speaks truth to power, where the author feels very strongly about an issue and is not afraid to speak out”. Some of these books are A Free Voice by Ravish Kumar), Parakala Prabhakar (The Crooked Timber – Essays on a Republic in Crisis) and Hindutva and Violence Against Women by Brinda Karat. The book titles often speak for themselves, such as G.N. Saibaba’s letters and poems which were written while he was in prison — Why Do You Fear My Way So Much? and more recently this year, Manoj Jha’s In Praise of Coalition Politics and Prem Shankar Jha’s The Dismantling of India’s Democracy.
Adapting to a changing literary landscape
Penguin India was the first international publisher to open its doors in India in 1985 and HarperCollins India followed soon after in 1991. Renuka Chatterjee, who moved from Penguin India to HarperCollins India to grow the original Indian list, recalls — “Since there wasn't that much competition, one didn't have to work so hard to make books sell.” Subsequently Random House, Hachette, Picador India, Simon & Schuster and Bloomsbury also opened their India offices. With multiple publishers entering the market, the emphasis on marketing and profits has intensified — all publishers find themselves battling to be seen on social media and jostling for book reviews in the shrinking print media space. “Social media is the strong arm of marketing, and this is very much an Instagram and X generation, so if we don't get news about our books out there, then a lot of people will not get to know about Speaking Tiger’s books. I think we've been lucky that many of our books have been widely reviewed. But I realise that there's a whole new generation which probably would not be reading reviews in print,” reflects Renuka.
The Tiger leaps forward
Over the next few years, Speaking Tiger is looking to expand both its editorial as well as their digital marketing infrastructure. Apart from Tota Books, it has also acquired the Full Circle imprint, which publishes mind, body and spirit. Writers might be delighted to learn that, while the fiction list has mostly been literary thus far, it will be open to more genres of commercial fiction. But before you rush to submit, a spot of advice from Renuka, who says, “A good book is not always just about good writing.”
So what does a good book involve for the editors of Speaking Tiger?
- First of all, writers have to have a story, whether it is fiction or non-fiction.
- Fiction writers: the characters and the story-line matter a lot. Good fiction is when the characters come alive and feel like real people in the room.
- Non-fiction writers: The book has to have a clear focus, where the author knows the subject well and is able to provide sound research
Advice for young publishing professionals
Despite its changing rules, the industry remains a beacon of hope for bookworms hoping to build a career around books. But is there more to the publishing life than enjoying reading? “Anyone who wants to get into publishing should be prepared for the sheer grind that goes into bringing out a book — reading the same manuscript multiple times before it goes to print, dealing with typesetters, designers and printers. Patience is a key virtue – it also helps in dealing with difficult authors!” explains Renuka, who has spent more than three decades as an editor and publisher.
Aspiring editors should also keep in mind that they are the facilitators of someone else’s story and they should have the ability to accept the writer’s views and experiences as their own. “The hallmark of a good editor is to be able to get inside the author’s head, and really understand what he or she is trying to say, and then help them say it better, if that is needed. The editor has to be able to draw out the story, by asking the right questions,” says Renuka.
Speaking Tiger at a roar
The very first Speaking Tiger books sent to press: The three that were launched in February 2015 are: A Book of Simple Living: Brief Notes from the Hills by Ruskin Bond, All That Could Have Been – a novella by Mahesh Bhatt and The Storyteller’s Tale – a novella by Omair Ahmad.
Amongst Speaking Tiger’s bestselling fiction: Education of Yuri by Jerry Pinto, Lorenzo Searches for The Meaning of Life by Upamanyu Chatterjee, which won the 2025 JCB Prize, and his earlier novel, Villainy, as well as Never Never Land by Namita Gokhale.
Amongst Speaking Tiger’s bestselling non-fiction: The Free Voice by Ravish Kumar, Ruskin Bond's autobiography, Lone Fox Dancing, and his Book of Simple Living is still selling.
A book that became a surprise bestseller: Iru : The Remarkable Life of Irawati Karve
A genre that Speaking Tiger specialises in: Anthologies. Amongst the bestsellers are Himalayas, edited by Ruskin Bond and Namita Gokhale; India Dissents: 3,000 Years of Difference, Doubt and Argument edited by Ashok Vajpeyi and Indian Christmas, edited by Jerry Pinto and Madhulika Liddle. The food histories have done well too — A Taste of Time: A Food History of Calcutta by Mohona Kanjilal and From The King's Table to Street Food – A Food History of Delhi by Pushpesh Pant — with food histories of Mumbai and Chennai coming up.
A book to look out for: Song of the Clay Pot: My Journey With the Ghatam by ghatam player, Sumana Chandrashekar which was released this August. While there are not many women ghatam players in the world, the book is a personal journey as well as a history of the ghatam, and a wealth of information on Carnatic music.