category Regional, chandigarh , , tags Regional, chandigarh , , DW BUREAU Chandigarh The third day of reputed publishing conference Jaipur Bookmark (JBM), which is running parallel to the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Series Jaipur Literature Festival 2024, delved deeper into the world of publishing with thought-provoking panel discussions across an eclectic range of subjects. Being held at Hotel Clarks Amer in Jaipur from 1st February to 5th February, the conclave brings together writers, translators, booksellers, publishers and literary agents from across the globe to foster connections as much for mutual values as for business opportunities in the industry. Over seven sessions that unfolded on Day 3 of JBM, speakers encompassed themes such as the secrets of effective bookselling, evolving pedagogical practises that are shaping educational publishing, the trials and tribulations of Indian language publishing, the legal nitty-gritties of taxation and piracy, the role of editorial sensibilities in designing winning book covers, and making intelligible the obscure universe of market trends, among others. THE ALCHEMY OF BOOKSELLING Aakash Gupta, Ajay Jain, Aditi Maheshwari Goyal, Vishal Pinjani, Pulkit Tiwari, and Priya Kapoor Bookstores are the key link between writers and readers that enable a society s literary landscape to flourish. India, though, is famously underserved in terms of bookstores, rendering the task of curation all the more weighty and challenging. We often plan our curation thematically such that it can be scaled, say special books and offers for Valentine s Day. Then there are other ways to make the bookstore more enticing. Coffee and books go wonderfully well together, we have learned, for instance explained Aakash Gupta, CEO, Crossword Bookstores. So we lay out our stores with more table space and vision merchandising to create the right ambience. We often hear the feedback that reading space is not enough in our stores, but with real estate costs being so high in India, that s a challenge for us. But we are trying to remedy that, added Gupta. New Delhi-based CMYK Bookstore, founded by brother-sister duo Kapil and Priya Kapoor, who also run the publishing house Roli Books, was born out of the dream to build a haven for illustrated books. Till this day, people tell us that our bookstore in GK II has transformed the area, especially since we added more events than were strictly literary in nature, including the screenings of usually inaccessible movies and even DJ nights. We also pay particular attention to which books could lend themselves well to merchandising, stated Priya Kapoor. Any discussion of bookstores is incomplete without the mention of virtual ones such as Amazon Bookstore, which are increasingly occupying a big share in the pile. The lifestyles of our consumers are changing rapidly. Amazon has the disadvantage of not being able to provide that sense of a latte to go with your book or the comfort of a couch to sink into while reading, but then we can provide other services. A virtual bookstore can be customised to a customer s needs and wants, so everyone who browses the website visits a different Amazon bookstore. (editor dailyworld.in)