Getting published in Bangladesh

It has been a while since you have wrapped up your work. Your words have bloomed characters and lives of their own, and given them a home. The pages have witnessed the trials and tribulations. It's your debut novel. The plot, the characters, the emotions, the messages, you hope to see them find a place out into the world, existing beyond your final draft.

If you are someone who does not know much about the local publishing scene, read on.

THE UNIVERSITY PRESS LIMITED (UPL)

A leading publisher in Bangladesh, UPL came into being in 1974. It has collaborated with Oxford University Press since 1975. Until now, it has published 800 titles — both in Bengali and English.

Literature, fiction, culture, and lifestyle are some of the themes they have adhered to. They have also published academic books, children's books, and thoroughly researched books on our Liberation war.

The potential authors are advised to make themselves familiar with UPL's catalogue. UPL fundamentally publishes books on social sciences, books that are educational. If you have a research work based on thesis papers (only in a book form) or fiction that tackles social issues or is educational in vital ways, UPL is an ideal house to approach.

The writers need to send a proposal so that the experts (in the relevant fields) can review what they have to offer. Short description of the manuscript, content list, author's bio, optional introductory chapter, and an optional excerpt are to be sent as the proposal.

Once primarily accepted, the author is contacted directly. Manuscripts can be submitted to info@uplbooks.com.bd with the subject, "MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION FOR REVIEW". A period of minimum eight weeks is needed to hear back from the reviewers once the manuscript has been sent.

A certain percentage of royalty is given to the authors on each book sold. It varies on the negotiations made by the author and the publishing house. Factors like the book's contents and its market potential are also taken into consideration for the percentage of royalty.

BENGAL LIGHTS BOOKS

"Days and Nights in the City", "The Bird Catcher and Other Stories", "This Path", and "Shaheen Akhtar - Beloved Rongomala" are some of the titles published by Bengal Lights Books in 2018. Fantasy novels, literary fiction, poetry, educational works; anything is welcome as long as it is original, well-researched, and has the potential to grab the attention of many.

A part of University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh, Bengal Lights Books welcomes submissions from all around the world although they especially encourage writers of Bangladeshi origin to submit.

The procedure involves sending a table of contents, a cover letter (with legal names, address etc), a short profile, a synopsis, the proposed title, and information on the genre, the targeted audience. The review process takes several months and the authors are contacted based on the reviewers' decision. The details are to be sent along with the manuscript in Word document format to books@bengallights.com under the subject, "Manuscript Submission".

PEARL PUBLICATIONS

Pearl Publications publishes books written in Bengali. Since 1999 it has been actively working in flourishing the local Bengali literature scene. Indian writers like Samaresh Majumdar and Sunil Gangopadhyay, Bangladeshis like Humayun Ahmed and Imdadul Haq Milon have been published occasionally through this publication.

They welcome pitches from the interested authors. If accepted, they look into the manuscripts. Once a manuscript has been approved by the editorial committee, they will print 500 books for the first edition (with no costs paid by the authors).

Even if the work gets rejected, an author could finance (on his/her own) its first edition through the publication. The cost, in that case, usually lurks around BDT 50,000 to 60,000.

WORTHY PUBLICATIONS

Worthy Publications started its journey last year and is yet to go a long way. It is a sought-after publishing house for many authors. It rose to popularity after bringing out anthologies like "The Mason Jar" and publishing Sabrina Fatma Ahmad's "Sehri Tales", which is an admirable contribution to Bangladesh's poetry scene.

To send your work to Worthy Publications, there is no specification for what genre your work follows. You could send in anything as long as they're original, refined, and of quality.

The procedure to send in one's work is quite simple for this publication. The manuscripts are to be sent to worthypublicationsbd@gmail.com for their consideration. The period for reviewing isn't disclosed by them publicly, but the author is certainly made aware of their work's fate.

For more information, you can contact 01611162723.

THE DAILY STAR BOOKS

Fiction and Non-fiction adhering to history and social issues of Bangladesh, memoir, diaspora, and autobiography are welcomed by The Daily Star Books. They also accept translated works (only if the works translated are by eminent writers).

A cover letter should be sent along with the manuscript, containing the author's bio, synopsis and excerpts of the work. For novels, first two to three chapters should be enough. And for short story collections, four stories are required to be sent as the excerpt. One could send in their works either physically to The Daily Star's main branch or submit online to emran.mahfuz@thedailystar.net. Their payment system is based on providing royalties too. The deals are usually negotiated with the authors they publish.

For more details, visit books.thedailystar.net/manuscript-submission

Other than the aforementioned publishing houses, there are many more that operate within the country; the procedures being similar in most cases. Contact them and choose whichever you find suitable. Happy writing.

Shah Tazrian Ashrafi has recently read 'The Good Muslim'. If you have similar recommendations, send him your way. Email: tazrian1234@gmail.com