Kobo will publish the first English-language digital edition of Vikram Seth’s 600,000 word novel A Suitable Boy in India. The bestselling work will be available exclusively through Kobo’s Writing Life self-publishing platform for 30 days.
Mark Lefebvre, Kobo director of self-publishing & author relations, said the partnership is “a great way to get more people reading--whichever way they choose.” Kobo also recently announced similar a deal to publish French translations of books by Bella Andre exclusively for a limited period.
First published in 1993, A Suitable Boy has been translated into 20 languages and has been available in India only in English-language print editions. This will be the first time the book has been available in English in a digital format.
Seth credited the digital deal to “Kobo’s enthusiasm, speed of response and flexibility,” and joked that the new digital edition of A Suitable Boy will allow Indian fans to read the mammoth novel, “without spraining their wrists--or developing unwanted muscles.”
