Kannada literary meet: Book publishers in crisis as readership drops

Kannada book publishers have expressed concern over declining Kannada readership with no significant increase in the number of people buying and reading Kannada books in recent years. It has become increasingly difficult to publish books due to various reasons and the publishers are in a state of crisis.

Dodde Gowda of Sapna Book House, during a session on the Challenges faced by book publishers and the solutions, said it has become important to understand the crisis the book industry is undergoing in events such as Kannada sahitya sammelana. The cost of raw materials is increasing, making the task cut out for the publishers, amidst no significant increase in readership.

He said that people are losing interest in reading books and the libraries are not getting new readers. The readers focus on the discounts instead of the quality and the content of the books. The readers are shifting to entertainment in the electronic mediums, and readership has seen a dip particularly with smartphones taking centerstage, he said.

He urged the State government to address the crisis faced by the publishers.

K. L. Rajashekar, who spoke on the status of the publication industry, said the Indian publication industry is 500 years old, and the Kannada publication has a history of 200 years. Despite this, the publication industry is facing challenges. There are not many takers for the publication industry, and the youth are taking easy routes to making money.

He said GST is having an impact on the publishers. A five percent tax is being imposed on the publishers, authors, and also readers. This has led to the closure of publications. If the GST is not brought down to three percent, then the survival of the publication industry will be difficult. It has become increasingly necessary to strengthen the publications.

Mr. Vasudendra suggested convincing readers of the importance of reading books in the digital age. The use of paper in other sectors is increasing while it is coming down in the book publication industry.

Mr. Ashok Kumar said the rise in the cost of paper has impacted the publication industry, and the support from the government to the publishers was the need of the hour.

This will be a big support to Kannada literature, he said.