A Chetan Bhagat novel remains at the cost of a cappuccino

After dominating the Indian commercial fiction landscape for over a decade, author Chetan Bhagat is now eyeing an international market. He announced his six-book global deal with Amazon Publishing on Friday, without divulging any monetary details, which is speculated to run into multi-million dollars (according to The Hindu’s report on April 18).

“It’s a very good and generous deal,” is all Mr. Bhagat had to say, in addition to calling it the biggest publishing deal in India and among the highest internationally.

Mr. Bhagat is the first Indian writer to be signed by publishing wing of the online retail giant. Among the six books, three would be novels, which Mr. Bhagat will deliver every two years, and the other three would be non-fiction. The first novel will be out this October, and pre-order will be available from August. The writer refrained from talking about his upcoming book and termed it a “surprise for his readers”.

Jeff Belle, vice-president, Amazon Publishing, and Mr. Bhagat said that the contract doesn’t factor in rights for film adaptations, and added that it is too soon to discuss the possibility of adaptations. Both of them were also tight-lipped about the pricing of Mr. Bhagat’s books under Westland, an Amazon company, which will distribute the print editions in India. “It will still be in the affordable range, as much as a cappuccino,” said Mr. Bhagat.

Mr. Belle said that Amazon Publishing plans to expand its audience in India, with a focus on providing translations. “We have a large list of authors that we’ve acquired in the U.S., U.K., Germany and France, so hopefully we can find a market for those authors in India,” said Mr. Belle. The plan also involves taking Indian authors to an international audience and expanding into Kindle and audio books.