Never Out of Print: The Rupa Story – The Journey of an Independent Indian Publisher - Rajen Mehra

Never Out of Print is a compelling, eye-opening, and deeply personal chronicle of one of India’s most iconic and enduring literary institutions. Authored by Rajen Mehra, the current Chairman of Rupa Publications and a veteran with over five decades in the book trade, this memoir provides an unforgettable front-row seat to the evolution of the Indian publishing ecosystem.

Synopsis:

The legendary story of Rupa began humbly on a Calcutta pavement in 1936, when D. Mehra, an impecunious but deeply driven salesman, decided to try his hand at selling books. Within a single generation, his relentless perseverance transformed a modest stall into a premier purveyor of imported literature and the country's leading distributor of English-language trade books—eventually representing international titans like Penguin, HarperCollins, and Faber.

As the company expanded into an independent publishing powerhouse, its trajectory became inextricably linked with the history of modern Indian literature. From iconic filmmaker Satyajit Ray designing Rupa’s very first colophon to publishing legendary bestsellers like cricketer Sunil Gavaskar’s Sunny Days, the early works of Ruskin Bond, and launching Chetan Bhagat—who would rocket to become India's largest-selling author—Rupa revolutionized how books are published, marketed, and read in India.

Never Out of Print is studded with fascinating, humorous, and sometimes idiosyncratic anecdotes about literary superstars, behind-the-scenes struggles against global conglomerates, and concrete industry insights into what it truly takes to engineer a national bestseller. It stands as an essential, inspiring text for students of publishing, budding entrepreneurs, and anyone who cherishes the cultural power of the printed word.