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Aleph Book Company

Overview

Aleph Book Company is an Indian independent publishing house based in New Delhi. It publishes a wide range of literary and general-interest titles in English, with a particular emphasis on writing about India, including history, politics, biography, current affairs, fiction, poetry, and translations from Indian languages.

Aleph Book Company
Type Publishing house
Industry Book publishing
Headquarters New Delhi, India
Country India
Languages Primarily English
Founder David Davidar (co-founder)

Background

Aleph was established as an independent literary imprint focused on quality writing about the Indian subcontinent. It was set up by the publisher and author David Davidar, formerly of Penguin Books India and Penguin Canada, and has at various points operated in association with Rupa Publications, one of India's older publishing firms.

Publishing programme

The company's catalogue spans several broad areas:

  • Non-fiction: history, politics, current affairs, economics, biography and memoir.
  • Fiction: literary novels and short story collections by Indian and South Asian authors.
  • Translations: works rendered into English from Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Tamil, Malayalam and other Indian languages.
  • Poetry and essays: single-author collections and curated anthologies.
  • Reference and illustrated works: books on Indian culture, religion, art and natural history.

Significance

As an independent imprint operating alongside the Indian arms of large multinational publishers such as Penguin Random House India and HarperCollins India, Aleph Book Company is part of a small group of literary houses that have shaped contemporary English-language publishing in India. Its lists have featured established Indian writers and public intellectuals, contributing to public discourse on history, politics and society.

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