"Discover the premier publishing conclave in South Asia" 15th Jan - 19th Jan 2026 at Hotel Clarks Amer, Jaipur
"Discover the premier publishing conclave in South Asia" 15th Jan - 19th Jan 2026 at Hotel Clarks Amer, Jaipur
Harriet Hirshman is the Senior Commissioning Editor at Dead Ink Books in Liverpool, where she commissions and edits titles and manages production and rights. Her authors include Adam S. Leslie, Jordan Prosser, Alice Evelyn Yang, Matt Hill, Tess Sharpe, Micheliny Verunschk, and Gerardo Sámano Cordova. She was recently shortlisted for Future Leader of the Year at the FutureBook Awards.
Ruby Hembrom is a publisher, documentarian, and practitioner who founded adivaani in 2012. She is the author of adivaani’s Santal Creation Stories for Children, as well as the prize-winning Disaibon Hul. Her publishing initiative emerged from the need to assert Adivasi presence in literary spaces, and her advocacy extends into broader campaigning and movement building for Adivasi communities
Harriet Hirshman is the Senior Commissioning Editor at Dead Ink Books in Liverpool, where she commissions and edits titles and manages production and rights. Her authors include Adam S. Leslie, Jordan Prosser, Alice Evelyn Yang, Matt Hill, Tess Sharpe, Micheliny Verunschk, and Gerardo Sámano Cordova. She was recently shortlisted for Future Leader of the Year at the FutureBook Awards.
Ruby Hembrom is a publisher, documentarian, and practitioner who founded adivaani in 2012. She is the author of adivaani’s Santal Creation Stories for Children, as well as the prize-winning Disaibon Hul. Her publishing initiative emerged from the need to assert Adivasi presence in literary spaces, and her advocacy extends into broader campaigning and movement building for Adivasi communities
Harriet Hirshman is the publishing manager at Dead Ink Books in Liverpool, where she commissions and edits titles and manages production and rights. Her authors include Adam S. Leslie, Jordan Prosser, Alice Evelyn Yang, Matt Hill, Tess Sharpe, Micheliny Verunschk, and Gerardo Sámano Cordova. She was recently shortlisted for Future Leader of the Year at the FutureBook Awards.
Ruby Hembrom is a publisher, documentarian, and practitioner who founded adivaani in 2012. She is the author of adivaani’s Santal Creation Stories for Children, as well as the prize-winning Disaibon Hul. Her publishing initiative emerged from the need to assert Adivasi presence in literary spaces, and her advocacy extends into broader campaigning and movement building for Adivasi communities
“This moment feels like a thousand fireflies lighting up a single sky, brief, brilliant and utterly collective…”
These evocative words by Banu Mushtaq, winner of the International Booker Prize, 2025, set free a thousand dreams and ideas. Heart Lamp, her collection of short stories written in Kannada, translated into English by Deepa Bhasthi, shows us how ‘local’ can be utterly universal and that… “No story is ever small…” It has reinforced our belief that translation is the instrument that can produce the startling harmonies that speak to our common humanity.
In a world where loud voices speak of division and difference, it is the quiet power of feelings embedded in words that draws us together. As her stories and the stories of several others make their way into a million hearts, we are enthused to work towards building bridges and creating a climate of connection across borders. There is no better time than this to strengthen exchanges between publishers in the UK and India.
Independent publishers, such as Chanda Pustaka and Fly on the Wall Press, are taking the lead in discovering fresh voices from diverse backgrounds and expanding the global readership. Acting as cultural bridges, they are adventurous and painstaking and do not stint on editorial time to refine new works for their markets. Equipped with both literary acumen and professional expertise, they have played a key role in the recent slew of prizes being awarded for both original writing and translations.
Recognizing the significance of this moment in time, the India-UK Publishing Fellowship seeks to bring together independent publishers from both countries to spread the seeds of diversity and grow a harvest of plenty that enables dialogue and nurtures professional growth.
The British Council and the Jaipur BookMark, India’s premier platform for the publishing industry, nested in the Jaipur Literature Festival, invite independent publishers from the UK and India to apply for the India-UK Publishing Fellowship. In recent years, the British Council has supported exchange visits for publishers, one each from the UK and India, as part of the programme, and facilitated their participation at Jaipur BookMark.
Through an open-call application process, the India–UK Publishing Fellowship is an opportunity for two independent publishers, one from India and one from the UK, to build long-term connections across borders, strengthen international publishing collaborations, and champion literature in translation.
A joint initiative by Jaipur BookMark (JBM) and the British Council, this fellowship will bring two selected Fellows to the Jaipur BookMark 2026 (15th–19th January) and the London Book Fair 2026 (10th–12th March) for a curated programme of industry networking, exchange, and professional development.
The India-UK Publishing Fellowship aims to:
“My publishing fellowship at Jaipur BookMark was a vibrant and uplifting experience. It was brilliant to see how meaningful literature is to readers in Jaipur. I had great meetings with Indian publishers who deepened my understanding of the literary ecosystem and the importance of publishing in regional languages. These connections will no doubt lead to career-long conversations and partnerships for Fly on the Wall Press.“
“I was fortunate to receive the 2025 UK–India Fellowship from Jaipur Bookmark. This fellowship gave me the unique opportunity to participate in both the Jaipur Literature Festival and the London Book Fair. I took part in several publisher sessions and engaged with numerous Indian and international publishers, exploring their work and catalogues. As a desi publisher, it is rare to get such a platform to connect with the global publishing community. This experience has enriched me both personally and professionally, and I am deeply grateful to the Fellowship Committee for making it possible.“
