A great read gives flight to the imagination and there you have it: your very own escape hatch from reality. Here's a quick throwback at some of the good things (yes there were a few reasons to not hate the world) that happened in the literary world last year, that kept our noses even more firmly in book
1. Adult Colouring Books
Adult colouring books have been quite a trend internationally but 2016 saw them enter the Indian market with fervour. From body positive books to Indian superheroes to books celebrating the history of India, we found a completely new passion - colouring!
2. Bob Dylan Received The Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prize in Literature is a coveted title that is the ultimate dream achievement for most writers and poets. However this year, the committee took a step away from the traditional winners list and gave the title to Bob Dylan, which shook up both the literary and music worlds!
3. Book Publishing App
Self-publishing books are fast becoming a rage but 2016 also rolled out a book publishing app. Launched by book publishing baroness, Chiki Sarkar and Durga Raghunath (former vice president, Zomato), Juggernaut Books is a mobile publishing house.
Bonus: Fantasy fiction stayed strong in 2016
According to Renuka Chatterjee, VP (Publishing), Speaking Tiger, fantasy fiction remained popular in the Young Adult genre. The immense success of J K Rowling’s ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’, VE Schwab’s ‘A Gathering of Shadows’, Ruta Sepetys’s ‘Salt To The Sea’ and Nicola Yoon’s ‘The Sun Is Also a Star’ — which have gathered top results on Goodreads — confirms the rising demand of the genre. In a candid chat with Nitya Shukla, Chatterjee also hinted that Indian crime writing has solidified its presence. Next time, you know what to pick while visiting a bookstore. Excerpts from the interview
Q: In the year of ‘Potter’, ‘Fantastic Beasts’, ‘Magnus’, how has fantasy fiction fared in the young adult genre in India?
RC: The young adult market — in the 16-25 age group —has always been the core readership for fantasy fiction, and it continues to be so.
Q: Is fiction still winning over non-fiction?
RC: Fiction has never won over non-fiction. Traditionally, non-fiction — current affairs, politics, memoirs and biographies — has always been a bigger and steadier seller. It’s just that when a work of fiction does well, e.g. Amish Tripathi, Ashwin Sanghi, Chetan Bhagat, it gets more media attention; unless it’s a film star biography or a big political book. And of course, most of the major literary prizes are for fiction, though that is changing. Now, many of them have sections for non-fiction as well.
Q: What kind of literary trends have shaped 2016?
RC: Well, colouring books for adults was pretty big in the early months but that trend has waned a bit now. I can’t see any definite major trend. It’s the same mix of fiction, literary, commercial, non-fiction and biographies. One could say, though that Indian crime writing is coming into its own, and has been for some time. We even have a crime writers’ festival in Delhi.
Read More: How colouring books came to be...
Like meditation, the pleasure of working with colours to fill the patterns in a colouring book can facilitate wellness, calmness and mindfulness. No wonder, this activity became a rage this year.
1. Colouring books for adults saw a comeback in the West when Scottish illustrator Johanna Basford’s book ‘Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Colouring Book’ sold over 13 million copies.
2. After charming the West, colouring books made headway in the Indian market too. Creators made use of the rich Indian history, design and epic stories to create unique books. Based on your interest, you can choose epic Indian tales and designs. If you’re not sure what to pick, try Devdutt Pattanaik’s retelling of ‘Mahabharata’ or ‘Ramayana’ or Subadra Kalyanaraman’s Madhubani-themed colouring book for adults or ‘Bagh-e-Bahar’, which lets you colour Mughal miniatures.
3. ‘Daily Mirror’ reported that prisoners in UK were being given crayons and colouring-in books to keep them occupied.
4. Besides stories, paisleys, other themes of nature, abstracts and mandalas are popular.
5. Whether this trend is a fad or here to stay remains to be seen though publishers are ready with next generation colour books, filled with intricate black-and-white illustrations. These books can stand alone as individual art pieces too. Never mind colouring!
Which of these trends will stand the test of time? We're pinning our hopes on colouring books, what about you?