Eminent publisher K P R Nair conferred with 'Golden Award' by FPBAI

Veteran publisher K P R Nair has been conferred with the 'Golden Award' by the Federation of Publishers' Booksellers' Association (FPBAI) for his more than 50 years of contribution towards the industry.

Nair, who received the award at FPBAI's 68th annual general meeting here on Saturday, is the founder and managing director of New-Delhi based Konark Publishers.

His publishing house has brought out bestselling titles by illustrious authors, including the late eminent journalist Kuldip Nayar, late foreign secretary J N Dixit, and late top bureaucrat M K Kaw.

''It is a great honour to have been chosen for the Golden Award by FPBAI. I look back at the 50 years I spent in the book publishing industry with nothing but humility,'' said Nair during the ceremony.

The noted publisher, with nearly four decades of experience, recalled his journey as a young man from Kerala eager to make a name for himself in the Indian publishing industry.

During his speech, Nair drew attention towards the challenges faced by the Indian publishing industry and how the rising paper and printing costs are threatening its very existence.

Though calling the price hike a ''global problem'', he argued that the repercussions will be ''severe'' in India, which publishes in as many as 22 languages.

''In such a fragmented industry, it is a struggle for survival for all,'' he cautioned.

The FPBAI, touted to be the oldest and the largest representative body of publishers, booksellers and wholesalers publishers' representatives in the country, has a membership of almost 1,000 establishments spread across the country.

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