India is the world’s 7th largest book market but didn’t have its own credible, regularly updated list of bestselling books, until now. To help Indian readers simplify their search for fiction, non-fiction, and children’s books, the Himalayan Writing Retreat (HWR) announces India’s first comprehensive weekly bestseller book list titled ‘The Nielsen- HWR Bestseller List’.
HWR is a residential learning center for writers founded in the Uttarakhand Himalayas in 2016 by author couple, Chetan Mahajan and Dr Vandita Dubey.
“When other countries can have bestseller lists like the New York Times bestseller list in the USA, why not us? India has a sizable number of readers always on the lookout for new books that match their tastes. As teachers of writing, we’re often asked, ‘What are people reading in India?’ The absence of any credible information was a gaping void that we are very proud to fill with India’s first comprehensive bestseller list,” said Chetan Mahajan, co-founder, Himalayan Writing Retreat, while announcing the launch of the list.
HWR will release a weekly bestseller list in India with the top 50 fiction, top 50 non-fiction, and top 25 list of children’s books. The list will comprise book-sales data backed by global marketing research firm Nielsen. It includes data from physical bookstores across the country as well as from online channels like Amazon and Flipkart. It will cover approximately 60% of all print book sales in India, making it the most comprehensive, credible bestseller list in the country.
“We believe that bestseller lists from sources who sell books cannot be neutral or unbiased. The reason the New York Times list is credible is because the NYT doesn’t try to sell you anything – just reports the books ranked by sales. Our bestseller list is the same. In fact, our list is that much richer because we are covering books in all languages,” said Dr Vandita Dubey, HWR co-founder, and a published author.
“The Himalayan Writing Retreat is all heart. Their book club is free. Their first draft club (which helps authors finish their first drafts) supports a small Uttarakhand School. For a small, young business it is amazing how much they give back already. I am sure the HWR Bestseller list will also become a valuable free resource for readers and writers,” says bestselling author Kiran Manral.
This is a classic case of a tiny business doing a big thing. The HWR team will analyze and present monthly and quarterly trends and commentary on the data from Nielsen as well. The list is now available at https://www.himalayanwritingretreat.com/bestselling-books-in-india/
The Himalayan Writing Retreat (HWR) is India’s leading residential learning center for writers based in Uttarakhand. The mission of HWR is to help writers – aspiring and otherwise – ‘Write better, Write more’.
HWR was founded in 2016 by an author couple, Chetan Mahajan and Dr Vandita Dubey. It is a writer’s muse, designed to inspire the creative soul. The Himalayas help, of course.
The retreat offers courses online as well as in the Himalayas. The courses range from entry-level to masterclasses for experienced writers. The faculty has luminaries of the writing world such as Manjula Padmanabhan, Mariam Karim Ahlawat, Erika Krouse, Kritika Pandey, Neil D’Silva, and Rochelle Potkar. HWR also offers a workshop on emotional well-being through writing led by Dr Vandita Dubey, a published author, and clinical psychologist.
