Prakash Books, India's largest trade publisher by volume and market share, has announced the launch of White Arrow Books, a new imprint for the U.S. and U.K. markets. At the helm of White Arrow will be directed by publishing veteran Meru Gokhale, former publisher of India's Penguin Press Group and founder of Editrix.ai. The move comes amid significant growth for the company, which recently reported an 85% increase in sales and continues its international expansion.
Prakash Books CEO Gaurav Sabharwal spoke with PW about the company's latest venture and its strategic plans for the future.
Your partnership with Meru Gokhale comes at a time of impressive growth for Prakash Books. How does this collaboration align with your broader vision for the company?
Meru Gokhale is a veteran of trade publishing with more than 22 years of experience in the publishing industry. She has deep industry experience in all aspects of book publishing. We feel that with her publishing experience combined with our global reach and marketing capabilities, we can really make a difference.
With your distribution network reaching 2,200 stores across India and recent appointment of a U.K. distributor, what distribution or marketing strategies are you planning for White Arrow Books?
In India and South Asia, we have our own distribution set up. In the U.S., we are working with Independent Publisher Group, and since we partnered with them in 2023 we have grown more than 250%. We have recently signed up with Gardeners in the U.K. for U.K. and European markets. In Australia, we are currently working with Amazon and will be setting up our own warehouse by the middle of 2025.
In the U.A.E., we are present at Sharjah Publishing City and we are one of the largest English language trade publishers in that market. Besides that, we sold books to over 56 countries around the world in 2024, and we are looking to expand that in 2025. We have a very large and capable digital marketing team that works across geographies to promote our books. This extensive network and marketing strength will be available to White Arrow authors, to establish their books as global bestsellers.
Your children's imprint Wonder House, which was launched in 2017, now commands 35% market share in India's children's book market. Will White Arrow Books target a specific demographic or genre, perhaps one with a similar growth potential?
White Arrow Books will be focusing on general nonfiction, including cookery, spirituality, mind-body-spirit, self-help, journals, gift books, but not limited to these. The idea is to make compelling general nonfiction books that people can cherish and use to enhance their daily life.
Prakash Books has successfully expanded into North American, U.K., and Middle Eastern markets. How will White Arrow Books factor into your international strategy?
Our broader strategy for White Arrow would be the same one that we have had for Wonder House and Fingerprint. We will make White Arrow Books available in as many territories as possible backed by very strong digital marketing. The only difference I see at this point is that we will be looking to work with authors from the English-speaking world—specifically the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia—for this imprint.
With your publishing portfolio already featuring more than 100 titles in Nielsen India's top 750, what specific benchmarks have you established to measure White Arrow Books' success?
As mentioned earlier, White Arrow titles would be first launched in the U.S. and U.K. markets. We feel that books that do well in those markets will eventually do well around the world. It is too early to set any specific benchmarks, but I am quite confident that we will start seeing White Arrow Books on charts in U.S., U.K., and around the world very soon.
