JLF London’s ninth edition took place from 10-12 June 2022 at the British Library to celebrate books, creativity, dialogue, diversity and varied intellectual discourse.
Photo: the British Library Board
Teamwork Arts, producer of the iconic Jaipur Literature Festival and the international extensions of JLF, held its ninth edition of JLF London at the British Library from 10-12 June 2022 to celebrate books, creativity, dialogue, diversity and varied intellectual discourse.
The festival showcased some of the world’s most eminent politicians, writers and authors, namely bestselling writer and politician Shashi Tharoor, politician and member of the parliament, Mahua Moitra, first Indian winner of International booker prize Geetanjali Shree, renowned television presenter Anita Rani and many more to engage on some of the most pressing issues of today that include – India at 75, the Urgency of Borrowed Time (Climate Change), the 50th anniversary of the 1971 War, Translation, Poetry, Art and Music, Business, History and many more.
JLF London covered various topics of the contemporary world
At its ninth edition, JLF London witnessed a vast range of sessions highlighting topics of the contemporary world. At a Durbar Theatre session, A Tale Tells Itself – Tomb of Sand- Ret Samadhi, Hindi writer Geetanjali Shree remembered A K Ramanujan and noted, “It’s not easy for me to talk about my work, as I don’t follow a very clear cut them. I work in quite another way. Don’t chase stories, but put yourself in a place where the story reaches you”.
At another session, while talking about Pride Prejudice & Punditry, bestselling writer and politician Shashi Tharoor said, “For me, pride is all about India. I’ve taken all the pride in the country being developed, pulling people out of poverty, technological directions to the next century, and international cooperation. Prejudice is over-clear on my sleeve, as I don’t like being prejudiced. My punditry has often been so anchored to the present and the broader trends throughout the present.”
Talking about her love for writing and the process she cultivated during the lockdown, Anita Rani said, “I loved having another world to step into, and I loved being able to be creative and have a creative outlet. This was all me, and being able to tell my authentic story, a story that I want to tell!”
2023 promises an interesting ride for print in India
Indian Printer and Publisher founded in 1979 is the oldest B2B trade publication in the multi-platform and
multi-channel IPPGroup. While the print and packaging industries have been resilient in the past 33 months since the pandemic lockdown of 25 March 2020, the commercial printing and newspaper industries have yet to recover their pre-Covid trajectory.
The fragmented commercial printing industry faces substantial challenges as does the newspaper industry.
While digital short-run printing and the signage industry seem to be recovering a bit faster, ultimately
their growth will also be moderated by the progress of the overall economy. On the other hand book
printing exports are doing well but they too face several supply-chain and logistics challenges.
The price of publication papers including newsprint has been high in the past year while availability is diminished by several mills shutting down their publication paper and newsprint machines in the past four years. Indian paper mills are also exporting many types of paper and have raised prices for Indian printers. To some extent, this has helped in the recovery of the digital printing industry with its on-demand short-run and low-wastage paradigm.
Ultimately digital print and other digital channels will help print grow in a country where we are still far behind in our paper and print consumption and where digital is a leapfrog technology that will only increase the demand for print in the foreseeable future. For instance, there is no alternative to a rise in textbook consumption but this segment will only reach normality in the next financial year beginning on 1 April 2023.
Thus while the new normal is a moving target and many commercial printers look to diversification, we believe that our target audiences may shift and change. Like them, we will also have to adapt with agility to keep up with their business and technical information needs.
Our 2023 media kit is ready, and it is the right time to take stock and reconnect with your potential markets and customers. Print is the glue for the growth of liberal education, new industry, and an emerging economy. We seek your participation in what promises to be an interesting ride.
