PTI
New Delhi
Penguin Random House India (PRHI) on Friday said it had been keen to publish Sonia Gandhi’s memoir ‘Belonging: A Journey of Love’ throughout “the relevant discussions” but it is their “prerogative and responsibility” to fact check authors.
It is not the publisher of the book in India, PRHI said in a statement, days after American publisher Alfred A Knopf, an imprint of Penguin Random House, announced that ‘Belonging’ would release on November 10.
The statement follows a report in the Indian Express claiming that the publisher backed out after Gandhi refused “editorial changes” to the manuscript.
“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.
“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” it said.
This is a normal part of the publishing process. Throughout the relevant discussions, Penguin Random House India’s position was that we remained willing and keen to publish the book,” it said.
The statement, which led to several Congress leaders bringing up issues of governmental pressure and freedom of expression, added that the company will not comment further on “confidential discussions with the author”.
Even as the status of the book’s distributor in India remains uncertain, a page on e-commerce website Amazon showed an ebook version of ‘Belonging’ up for pre-order at Rs 2,615.
According to the e-commerce website, the e-book is published by William Collins, an imprint of HarperCollins UK. The book’s India release has been a matter of much speculation since Alfred A Knopf’s announcement.
