Author Amit Chaudhuri delivers a talk at Utkal University in Bhubaneswar. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, March 28: Well-known author Amit Chaudhuri today interacted with writers of Odisha at a meet hosted at the Utkal University.

The author spoke about the present scenario of the publishing industry – the challenges faced and the approach to the issues as well as about nuances of writing.

“Today two terms have acquired significance — literary vigilantism and market vigilantism. Literature is increasingly becoming market oriented. This trend is leading to more books and emergence of many authors, but at the same time diluting the gravity of literature,” he said.

Chaudhuri made his mark right from his first book A Strange and Sublime Address that had won the best first book at the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize in 1991. Among various other achievements and awards, his book — A New World— won him the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2002. He is at present the professor of contemporary literature at the University of East Anglia. His latest book Telling Tales, is a collection of essays. He is also a trained and critically acclaimed singer in the north Indian classical tradition.

The English department of the university hosted the discussion and writers, professors and staff, as well as the students, of the department welcomed Chaudhuri. He spoke about the usage of words to bring in arguments in literature. “It was wonderful to learn from him about how to write an argument and how to weave the words to make it interesting,” said Debidutta Das, a research scholar of the English department.

He also shared interesting anecdotes from his first trial with publishers during his Oxford days where he was the classmate of Jatin Nayak, who heads the English department at Utkal University. Among other elements, he threw light on copyright, editorial feedback and the publishing industry in general.

Kanchana Mukhopadhyay, a well-known publisher, also deliberated during the national seminar on publishing and editing. She elaborated on the confusion between copyright and patent and how they are different. “Patent is used for abstract ideas and theories whereas in the publishing industry, copyright is a major tool for writers,” she said.