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Juggernaut Books

Overview

Juggernaut Books is an Indian book publishing company based in New Delhi. Founded in 2015 by Chiki Sarkar and Durga Raghunath, it positions itself as a publisher catering to both print and digital readers, with a smartphone-based reading application complementing its trade publishing list.

Type Book publisher
Industry Publishing
Founded 2015
Founders Chiki Sarkar, Durga Raghunath
Headquarters New Delhi, India
Country India
Products Print books, e-books, mobile reading app

Background

Chiki Sarkar, formerly publisher at Penguin Random House India and earlier at Random House India, launched Juggernaut after leaving Penguin in 2015. Durga Raghunath, who had a background in digital media and had worked with Network18 and Zomato, co-founded the company with a focus on the technology side of the business. The venture was conceived around the idea that mobile phones could become a primary reading device in India, given high smartphone penetration relative to dedicated e-readers.

Operations

Juggernaut publishes across genres including literary fiction, popular fiction, non-fiction, politics, business, memoirs, and short reads. Its catalogue has included titles by Indian authors as well as translations and works on contemporary Indian affairs. The company released a mobile application that hosts its e-book catalogue and shorter writing formats designed for phone-based reading.

Funding

The company raised early-stage investment from a group of Indian investors, including figures from the technology and business community, to support its hybrid print-and-digital model.

Timeline

  • 2015: Juggernaut Books founded by Chiki Sarkar and Durga Raghunath.
  • 2016: Launch of the Juggernaut reading app and the first list of print titles.
  • Subsequent years: Expansion of the print list, with a growing emphasis on trade publishing alongside the app.

Significance

Juggernaut is often cited as one of the early Indian publishing houses to integrate a consumer-facing digital reading platform with conventional trade publishing. Its founding coincided with broader shifts in Indian English-language publishing, including the entry of new independent imprints and increased experimentation with shorter digital formats.

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