MS RADHIKA PANICKAR SERAI: A YOUNG AND ENTHUSIASTIC LEADER WITH ROBUST FOOTING IN THE PUBLISHING SPACE
This Women’s Day, Business Connect Magazine unveils a young and eminent female face of the century-old business of publishing, Radhika Panickar Serai. Founder & CEO of Rumour Books India, Radhika donned the entrepreneurial hat at the early age of 21 & has never looked back since. Her story is as vivacious and impactful as her personality. The world of publishing is popularly monopolized by very old players. Radhika broke this stereotype with Rumour Books India.
Juggling between whimsical authors, shrewd literary agents, an overly expensive ever-changing market with a niche audience, being a Publisher can be a challenge or maybe not. Let’s figure.
A STRONG LINEAGE OF QUALIFIED CONTENT AND AUTHORS
Nearly a decade old, Rumour Books India publishes fiction & non-fiction titles. It is devoted to publishing quality stories that contain the potential to provoke and influence at the same time. Rumour Books India is the only publisher from North India to have a national presence. In the brief period since its inception, it has scaled the bestsellers’ lists on Amazon, Flipkart, Crossword and The Hindu. We live in times where content is everything, at Rumour Books India churning out quality content is quintessential. ‘Quality over quantity,’ as Radhika puts it.
THE OFFICIAL PUBLISHERS OF THE PRIME MINISTER’S MANN KI BAAT & OTHER BESTSELLERS
All of Rumour Books India’s titles are headliners in their respective categories, such as Matabele Dawn by Saad Bin Jung, an epic novel proving to be a crucial unifying link between Africa and India, which the CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella, described as “A pure delight!”.
Rumour Books India is the official publisher of the Prime Minister of India’s—Narendra Modi—Mann Ki Baat: From the Heart of the Mind.
Rumour Books India was commenced to bridge the gap of quality content in the market without aimlessly chasing numbers. Growing as a boutique publishing house, it has strived hard at discovering gems in the world of content. Rumour Books India provides authors with a platform to shape their talents.
Aptly said, Rumour Books India is where ‘Bestsellers are Born’. With bestselling authors such as Vish Dhamija (Bhendi Bazaar/ Déjà Karma/ Doosra), Kulpreet Yadav (The Girl Who Loved a Spy/ The Girl Who Loved a Pirate), Harsh Snehanshu (Mango Chutney/ Green Mango More), Ketan Bhagat (Child/ God), Jerry Jeroninio Almeida & Rajendran Panickar (Mann Ki Baat: From the Heart of the Mind), Shobha Bondre (The Sixth Element), Rumour Books India specialises in promoting bestselling books/ titles and bestselling authors. Rumour has published over a 100 titles since inception.
Working alongside writers in churning out good content isn’t just its aim, but also the vision is to bring back writing in vogue and inspire more people to take up writing professionally; there’s nothing more fulfilling than penning down one’s thoughts.
The journey so far would’ve been impossible without the foundation of our company i.e. is its team. As Radhika puts it, her partner and Co-Founder Reekrit Serai has been encouraging in bringing his expertise from the field of education and technology. One of the oldest employees, Ritu Upadhyay has been with them since inception. She further adds, “I truly believe you’re a successful entrepreneur if your vision is your team’s mission”.
A LEADER OF MULTI-DIMENSIONAL TALENTS
Radhika’s eminence in the publishing space is conferred for her diverse efforts. Besides Rumor Books India, she is a board member of Satluj Group of Schools: the Chandigarh region’s oldest and largest group of private K-12 institutions, spanning 14 branches in Haryana, Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir. She has served acclaimed brands such as India Today and the Times of India as a journalist and Citibank as a Universal Banker.
She is also the chairperson of Panchkula Art & Literary Festival (PALF) – North India’s largest literary festival, a prestigious Member of Women Entrepreneurship Network and an integral trustee and advisory board member to various organisations. Her efforts to bring about change and difference in society has been honoured with the highest civilian honour for women, ‘The Nari Shakti Samman Award’. She is also a sought-after speaker at several events on women entrepreneurship, publishing and education.
RESPONDING TO THE PANDEMIC
The unforeseen COVID-19 pandemic took every business by storm. These challenging times have taught us to be prepared for the unknown. Rumour Books India successfully shifted the focus online and during the time of lockdown churned out several e-books. The herculean task of sourcing paper was achieved by discovering Indian vendors and promoting small businesses while saving costs.
REVIVING THE SPLENDOUR OF READING BOOKS
The ever-changing world of technology almost always rubbishes the old school idea of reading a book. This is exactly what Rumour Books India is here to change. While accepting and evolving with the changing times, relying on basics is more important now than ever. Nothing matches the touch and feel of a book. Nothing is more luring than a pile of books kept by a window with a rocking chair.
But how are they doing it?
Books are checked at every step to ensure quality and minimal errors. All of their books—fiction/non-fiction—have no age bar. The Authors are the brand ambassadors. They are given the liberty to intervene and add content or recommend creative changes prior to the final print run. “We invest in their art and allow our work to do the talking”, states Radhika.
