PVLF 2025

Amazon to Shut Down Indian Publishing House Westland Books

Amazon is shutting down Westland Books, a major Indian publishing house, impacting authors, staff, and the future of English-language publishing in India.
on Dec 02, 2024

New Delhi: Amazon India has decided to shut Westland Books, one of India's biggest English-language trade publishers, acquired by the e-commerce giant in 2017. According to an Amazon spokesperson, this decision seals the fate of a significant player in the Indian publishing landscape.

After careful review, we have decided to discontinue Westland. We are working closely with employees, authors, agents, and distribution partners to ensure a smooth transition," said an Amazon spokesperson in an email statement.

Impact on Authors and Staff

Westland, publisher of some of the bestselling authors, including Amish Tripathi, Chetan Bhagat, Devdutt Pattanaik, Rujuta Diwekar, and Ashwin Sanghi, has been at the very heart of the Indian publishing industry for both fiction and non-fiction books. The Context imprint from 2018, focused on literary fiction, has received great recognition so far.

Bestselling author Amish Tripathi, who wrote The Shiva Trilogy, said he was worried about the implications for his current and future books and that he still awaited clarity on the next steps. Other authors such as Aakar Patel, Nisha Susan, and Rashmi Bansal expressed their disappointment while appreciating Westland's commitment and contribution to the publishing world.

Nisha Susan, author of The Woman Who Forgot to Invent Facebook and Other Stories, said, "It's really sad. Westland had a small, dedicated team, and working with them was a joy." She added that authors assume their rights will revert to them, though there is no official confirmation yet.

Shockwaves Across the Industry

It caught Westland's editorial team off guard, being informed only in the early hours of the day. The casualties include senior editors Karthika VK and Ajitha GS. Industry veterans who have recently come on board from HarperCollins India, it must be said.

Westland has published a mix of commercial and literary successes, making its closure a significant loss to India's publishing landscape. Aakar Patel, whose book Price of the Modi Years was recently published by Westland, expressed his disappointment, stating, "They've been putting out excellent books. This is a major blow to Indian publishing."

About Westland Books

Established in 1962 as East West Books and acquired by Amazon in 2017, Westland quickly became the largest publisher in the country. It represented genres and authors working in diverse genres, from popular fiction to groundbreaking non-fiction.

What's Next?

The future of Westland's catalogue is unclear, but industry insiders think the rights to books that are already published will go back to the authors. Many authors and industry professionals are left wrestling with the implications for their careers and the Indian literary landscape at large.

Westland's closure marks a seismic shift in India's publishing industry, leaving many asking what this means for the future of English-language trade publishing in the country.