PVPF 2024

Interview With Kapil Gupta, CEO of Frontlist

on Feb 03, 2022

Q. How did you come up with the idea of starting ‘Frontlist Media’?

I had been working with the publishing industry for more than a decade. During these years, I came to a realisation that there are significant problems that have to be fixed in it and it’s immensely disorganised. There is no certain singular platform that covers the publishing industry in our country where authors and publishers can promote their work. However, there are substantial platforms that exist globally like Bookseller, Publishing Perspectives, Publishers weekly and many such similar platforms, while there is no such platform in India. Frontlist is the first-ever platform to promote authors and publishers and their work. It is a place where authors can reach out to the audience, promote their work, while readers can get updated about their favourite authors and whatever is going on in the industry, a wonderful way to connect readers, authors, and publishers. It is a credible source to procure content from and provide readers with what to read. It will amalgamate the entire industry and bring everyone in one place. Our vision is to expand it and make it the best and only platform for the publishing industry in India.

Q. What is PragatiE Vichaar?

Pragati Vichaar, in its literal meaning, defines ‘progressive thoughts’, which is precisely what it wants to work for. We came up with this concept after the massive success of Delhi Book Fair 2020 and Delhi Book Fair 2021, virtual events which astonishingly grabbed heaps of recognition from people. Therefore, with the aim to bring progressive thoughts out in the industry and showcase those to the world, we launched PragatiE Vichaar as a virtual platform which is a medium where we are going to hold events to enlighten the minds of the audience. PragatiE Vichaar recently organised PragatiE Vichaar Literature Festival 2022, which was a tremendously big event and gained a lot of attention. We are delighted to hold more such events in the upcoming days ahead like PragatiE Vichaar Poetry Festival and PragatiE Vichaar ‘Break The Bias’ events being organised on this World Poetry Day and International Women’s Day respectively.

Q. Frontlist has got a lot of appreciation after the successful completion of the PragatiE Vichaar Literature Festival 2022. Do you think this event stood prolific for the debut authors?

PragatiE Vichaar Literature Festival 2022 was our first foray to bring the industry together and it went pleasingly successful.
Before this, the industry had been facing challenges in integrating the publishers and authors in one place, with the lack of planned structures and events, it’s been difficult to serve this opportunity to bring them together. However, PragatiE Vichaar Literature Festival had been amazingly favourable and encouraged authors and publishers to integrate well. We were able to bring top authors, both Indian and international, and a whole bunch of debut authors. Its aim was majorly inclined towards consideration of debut authors, to promote their work and increase their reach. It consisted of consecutive 48 sessions by authors and lasted for 24 hours, it was a huge milestone and I am positive it must have shattered records. PragatiE Vichaar hosted the PVLF Excellence Awards and I am extremely proud to share that it managed to gather several top authors. Frontlist is recognised by every author and publisher now, I am grateful to PragatiE Vichaar for that.

Q. After PVLF, Frontlist is organising two more Virtual events - PragatiE Vichaar ‘Break The Bias’ and PragatiE Vichaar Poetry Festival 2022. How will these kinds of events make difference in the Publishing ecosystem?

PragatiE Vichaar ‘Break The Bias’ is a fascinating event that is to be held on International Women’s Day. We are working with PublisHer and bringing powerful top women from the entire publishing industry who are going to commemorate the event with us and share their thoughts. On the occasion of International Women’s Day, it will be the only event that is going to talk about women empowerment in the publishing industry.
PragatiE Vichaar Poetry Festival is being celebrated on World Poetry Day and we are going to specifically focus on the art of poetry. Poets from across the world are participating and their poems in languages Hindi, English, and Urdu will be going live. Not just prominent biggest authors but also debut authors will join us in this event. We expect the event will be a massive success in terms of coverage, engagement, and participation.

Q. How do you visualize the expansion of Frontlist in the upcoming years?

Frontlist is already a colossal platform that is being reckoned across the publishing domain. Our digital platform is doing great but with that, a few months back, we came up with the idea of print magazine for Frontlist and that has helped in reaching out to the publishing community. A print magazine is a right platform for people to read about their favourite authors and get updates about the whereabouts in the industry. It is specifically made for authors, publishers, and their readers. The magazine is highly appreciated by publishers and authors. I can say with confidence that it is going to help us further and make us touch the skies.

Q. Frontlist was the media partner of previous editions of Virtual DBF 2020 and 2021. What are the plans for the Virtual Delhi Book Fair 2022?

Delhi Book Fair 2020 and Delhi Book Fair 2021 have had Frontlist as a media partner. We expect Virtual Delhi Book Fair 2022 to be as big as the previous two events were. The dates of the event have already been announced which are from September 5th to September 11th. In the next few weeks, you are going to witness a lot more events, promotions, and communication about the Book Fair.

Q. What is your vision behind starting Frontlist printed magazine?

Frontlist print magazine is the platform that reaches out to a lot of traditional authors who are low-key and haven't had much reach to the readers. Our focus is to promote such authors and keep a tab on what is going on in the industry. The digital platform, e-magazine as well as a print magazine are holistic platforms for everyone and provide credible information. It covers all the events that we organise, authors’ interviews taken by us, and the promotion of books.

Q. Frontlist has been engaging with a lot of big publishers. How are these collaborations beneficial for Publishing Ecosystem?

I have always believed in the power of the ecosystem. By bringing people together from across the publishing domain, I firmly believe that this is the key to success. Frontlist’s mission is to be the centre of this ecosystem. We have collaborated with The Federation of Indian Publishers, Authors Guild of India, Capexil, PublisHer, and many more similar organisations. We are looking forward to collaborating with more like NBT. With this, we also do collaborations with various publishers who have excitedly participated with us in the events. We welcome authors as speakers who help us to reach out to their audiences. We strongly believe that the increase of collaborations will help the publishing industry cohesively become one.