Day 2 of Jaipur BookMark focused on the changing trends in technology and its impact on literature across languages
Jaipur, February 1st, 2025 – The second day of Jaipur BookMark 2025, India’s premier publishing conclave, running concurrently to the Jaipur Literature Festival, hosted a range of sessions, including translation, diversity in children’s publishing, AI & creativity, and more.
JBM has evolved into a dynamic hub for the global book trade, bringing together publishers, literary agents, editors, writers, translators, and booksellers from across the world. With its mission to foster collaboration, build business relationships, and spark inventive ideas, JBM remains a vital platform for those in the publishing industry.
Notable conversations held during this year’s edition of JBM included Scanning the Horizon, with Brian Murray in conversation with Ananth Padmanabhan, and AI and Creativity: The Emerging Picture, featuring Dhruvank Vaidya, Peter Coveney, and Roger Highfield in conversation with Meru Gokhale. The platform also hosted Hindi Ke Badalte Swaroop, a stimulating conversation with Aishwary Kumar, Manisha Kulshrestha, and Satyanand Nirupam, moderated by Akhil Katyal.
The AI panel focused on its impact on creativity, focusing on audiobooks and translation. Roger Highfield noted AI’s predictive power but highlighted its lack of deep insight. Peter Coveney pointed out AI’s potential for literary and medical discoveries but warned of its statistical limitations. Dhruvank Vaidya discussed AI’s rapid content generation, raising concerns about deepfakes and content overload. Meru Gokhale emphasized AI’s evolving role in publishing while stressing the need for authenticity. The panel agreed that while AI enhances creativity, ethical and critical considerations remain crucial in balancing efficiency with human imagination.
In Hindi ke Badalte Swaroop, panellists bemoaned the loss of writing in Hindi. Even in the world of advancing technology, younger generations have retained their love for the art of calligraphy and writing in Hindi. The strength of a language is in the hands of its speakers, so we need more people to engage with the language to keep it alive.
Charting the roles of the writers and creators, Brian Murray outlines the changes the publishing industry has been through in today’s time of major technological booms. Murray expressed concerns regarding the increasing popularity of Tik Tok, Instagram and Amazon presenting challenges for the publishers. Murray concluded with the acceptance and the importance of change and vibrancy the writers and publishers need to bring about in their approaches.
The International Publishing Roundtable featured a global line-up of publishing leaders, including Aditi Maheshwari-Goyal, Emmanuelle Collas, Isabelle Kenyon, Jon Krog Pederson, Kannan Sundaram, Mélody Enjoubault, Milee Aishwarya, Raphaël Thierry, Sabine Wespieser, Stéphane Husar, Swetha Yerram, Tiffany Gassouk, and Vasudhendra, in conversation with Arcopol Chaudhuri. The roundtable featured speakers discussing their publishing houses and the exciting books in the pipeline.