New Delhi: Amid reports claiming that Penguin has backed out from publishing Sonia Gandhi’s book after the leader denied editorial changes, it declined such speculations.
Penguin Random House India has claimed that it was not the publisher of “Belonging: A Journey of Love, Sonia Gandhi’s upcoming memoir, in India.”
“Penguin Random House India is not the publisher of Belonging in India. Any suggestion that Penguin Random House India decided not to publish Belonging because the author declined editorial changes does not accurately reflect the circumstances,” the company said in a statement.
However, the publisher did acknowledge that they were “keen to publish the book”.
“As a publisher, it is both our prerogative and our responsibility to fact check and provide authors with recommendations that are in the best interests of their books. This is a normal part of the publishing process,” the statement said.
But the company didn’t divulge the details of the discussion with the author.
“Throughout the relevant discussions, Penguin Random House India’s position was that we remained willing and keen to publish the book. We will not comment further on confidential discussions with the author,” the statement reads.
Now that Penguin is out, several Indian publishers are now in the race to get the rights with HarperCollins to be able to publish and distribute the book in India.
Publisher Alfred A Knopf, a giant in American publishing and an imprint of Penguin Random House, has announced that the memoir will be released on November 10.
