The illustrated Mahabharata and Ramayana titles emerged as our best sellers. STEM titles and books on vocabulary, especially our DKYR editions, were in great demand by parents. The Big Ideas series was also received well and new disciplines including Psychology, Philosophy, and Design saw considerable interest. DK Delhi's local titles Shakti and Sikhs: The History of a people, their faith were among the top-5o best sellers.At the fair, the team of volunteers from the Delhi office could be seen frantically navigating the sea of people at our stall, interacting with readers at length despite the chaos and noise, stacking and restacking books, and simply being the best salespeople possible for our titles. Their efforts, along with the tireless commitment of Kingshuk Ghoshal (Managing Editor, Knowledge) and staff members Bishnu, Sanjay, RB, Lali, Pintoo and Anil, ensured our success at the event.
DK’s performance was not the only takeaway. Volunteers were able to engage with our readers directly and understand their needs on a personal level. There were parents looking for trustworthy guides, teachers who wanted to source our books for their school libraries, and children eager to learn something new and exciting. Creative Head Malavika Talukder even sold a history encyclopaedia to Member of Parliament Rajeev Shukla. Volunteers also had a closer look at the factors preventing some customers from picking up DK titles – including pricing and competing titles within Penguin and those of other publishers such as HarperCollins, Scholastic, and Bloomsbury. “Talking to parents and learning about the types of books they were selecting for their children was…insightful, and I came away from the book fair with a deeper appreciation for the importance of reading and the impact it can have on a child's development.”, Nishwan Rasool (Project Picture Researcher) noted. Zarak Rais (Assistant Editor, Knowledge) fondly recalled a precocious eight-year-old old boy she interacted with, who had such an extensive knowledge of cars that he picked up a 9+ title on the subject and spoke at length about all his favourite sports cars! For Chhavi Nagpal (Editor, Knowledge), her most memorable experience was facilitating a bulk buyer who purchased almost our entire stock on the very last day of the fair.With such experiences and insights in tow, DK India is now brimming with ideas for new pitches, improvements and marketing strategies. The coming months will see us continue these conversations, work on our titles with renewed enthusiasm and, of course, eagerly await the return of the fair next year.
Nandini Desiraju & Bipasha Roy
