New Delhi, July 15 (IANS) Authors and book lovers can be discerned by a few major traits, including a curiosity in all phases of a book’s production, a readiness to embrace a new role in the process, as well as a marked inclination to attract others – in these days of limited attention spans – to the joys of reading, be it for pleasure or profit. Amrita Tripathi meets these criteria.

Print/broadcast/digital journalist-turned-author and podcaster Tripathi this week launched a new publishing imprint, Say Again Press, in collaboration with Bloomsbury India. Its two inaugural titles: “Lead Yourself” and “Be Heard!”, designed especially to be concise, engaging, and accessible for modern readers, focus on helping them build communication, leadership, and personal development skills.

Elaborating on her change from being an author to donning the publisher’s role, she stressed that she continues to be an author but has just transitioned to a wider perspective of the sector.

“I’ve been an author for 16 years, having written both novels and non-fiction, and I don’t want that identity to change,” Tripathi told IANS in an email interview.

“But somewhere over the past few years, including my experience running The Health Collective for 10 years (focusing on stories of mental health) and heading content partnerships here in India at a tech company, I realised that I have an interest in the larger ecosystem. I wanted to see how best to curate stories and ensure they reach audiences. Especially those who now have a shorter attention span! ” she added.

“I want to work on the business and strategy side of things as well, so this seemed like the right approach. At the end of the day, I love working with content and being an author (like most of our core team!) should be a huge value-add.”

On the transition experience, Tripathi told IANS that it was “very dynamic and fluid”, and she was lucky to put together “such a great squad of talent to work with”, including editors Himanjali Sankar & Sundeep Misra, designers Devangana Dash and Mridu Agarwal—and a great partnership with Bloomsbury thanks to MD Rahul Srivastava.

“On the other hand, what a learning curve! From my first conversations last year with Stck.me founder Samir Patil to talks with bookstore owners, writers and more, it’s clear that this is also an ecosystem that could do with a little more transparency and that there are many tough spots to navigate as a startup,” she added.

On the imprint’s debut titles, Tripathi holds that for the first leadership series, “Say Again Essentials”, she had “a very clear idea” in mind, to focus on short, crisp and compelling titles that people can lean on for leadership and professional development.

“For the next series that is kicking off, ‘Say Again Crux’, we will be looking at non-fiction across politics, sports, parenthood, healthcare and more — these will also be shorter books, sharply tailored for today’s attention span.”

“We zeroed in on the first titles thanks to our network of writers and editors, as well as some open pitches!” she added.

On what her venture’s oeuvre would comprise, Tripathi said that the prime focus for now was on non-fiction in the genre of self-improvement, family and health, business, sports and politics, as well as a very interesting mythology series.

“My work in the mental health space also naturally lends itself to some forthcoming titles from writers in this space. And actually mid-to-long term we will also look at select fiction!” she added.

On the declining reading habits due to digital device addiction/limited attention spans, she contends that she is of the opinion that everyone is suffering from a similar challenge — the fragmented attention span.

“But at the same time, we don’t even realise sometimes how much we are reading (on our screens) and how much content we are consuming!” she pointed out.

“My sense is that many of us also have a lot of digital fatigue and would welcome a change of pace. We would like to have some good options – even a short book that inspires us to think, or gives us some ideas, or helps us build our own critical thinking again, not just being dictated to by algos!”

“Many people are still clearly curious and hungry for good content, and conversations. So hopefully that’s something we can tap into and help co-create!”

On her own reading habits, Tripathi confessed that she loves so many different books.

These span Ann Patchett’s “Whistler”, Elif Shafak’s “There are Rivers in the Sky”, to some very fun spy thrillers in the Slow Horses series by Mick Herron, an irreverent look at the bureaucracy of espionage.

“In the leadership space, I’m reading Brene Brown’s Strong Ground, which is fantastic.”

On suggestions for readers, settled or emerging, she pitches for her own favourites, as well as Say Again Press debut ventures – “Lead Yourself” and “Be Heard!”

“These are very short and budget- and pocket-friendly, and meant for the modern reader. Including our short attention spans,” she said.

–IANS

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