Amazon Publishing acquires Chetan Bhagat's next six books
Mumbai, April 27: Amazon Publishing has announced a global deal for the next six books by best-selling author Chetan Bhagat, whose previous books were published by Rupa publications.
The deal includes three fiction and three nonfiction titles. Amazon Publishing will publish these books globally in print, eBook and audio formats, with the first title out in October 2018. The title or any other details about the first book are yet to be disclosed.
According to Amazon, all the books are planned to also be available in multiple Indian language translation versions. Westland, an Amazon company, will distribute the print editions in India.
"Amazon Publishing is excited to work with Chetan and publish his books to a wider audience including readers both in India and abroad," said Jeff Belle, Vice President, Amazon Publishing.
"Millions of readers have enjoyed Chetan's work for over a decade. His books deftly weave together the everyday life of youngsters with the prevalent social milieu of our time," he added.
Bhagat expressed his delight over the deal for his upcoming books.
"Amazon's online advantage and their commitment to reach every corner of India ties in well with my goals of inspiring every Indian read books. Further, Amazon's global reach, especially with Kindle eBooks, will give me readers worldwide. Ever since my books were made available on Kindle, I get emails from readers in places like Africa and Europe, something that did not happen earlier.
"My new fiction novel is scheduled for release during the festive season in October 2018. While I will reveal details later, I am very excited about it. It will be my first book in both eBook and print formats with Amazon Publishing and it will be something different from what I have done before," he said.
Amazon acquired Westland Publications Pvt Ltd, a leading trade books publisher, in January 2017. Westland is the official distributor of Amazon Publishing titles in India and works with India's top book distributors, book retail chains, independent book retailers and online marketplaces.
Bhagat arrived in the Indian literary space with a bang and has so far published nine blockbuster books. These include seven novels -- "Five Point Someone" (2004), "One Night @ the Call Center" (2005), "The 3 Mistakes of My Life" (2008), "2 States" (2009), "Revolution 2020" (2011), "Half Girlfriend" (2014) and "One Indian Girl" (2016) and two non-fiction titles -- "What Young India Wants" (2012) and "Making India Awesome"(2015).
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London, Nov 22: A bomb disposal squad deployed as a “precaution” to the South Terminal of Gatwick Airport concluded an investigation into a "security incident" on Friday after making a “suspect package” safe.
The South Terminal of Gatwick Airport, the UK's second busiest airport after Heathrow, which was briefly shut owing to the incident reopened following the incident.
The Gatwick is around 45 km south of London.
Two people detained during the enquiries have since been allowed to continue their journey as the airport was opened.
“Police have concluded their investigation into a report of a suspect package at Gatwick Airport. Officers from the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team made the package safe, and the airport has been handed back to its operator,” Sussex Police said in an updated statement.
“Two people detained while enquiries were ongoing have subsequently been allowed to continue their journeys. There will remain an increased police presence in the area to assist with passengers accessing the South Terminal for onward travel,” the statement added.
Earlier on Friday, the incident caused severe disruption at the busy airport’s South Terminal, while the North Terminal of Gatwick Airport remained unaffected.
“Police were called to the South Terminal at Gatwick Airport at 8.20 am on Friday (November 22) following the discovery of a suspected prohibited item in luggage,” a Sussex Police statement said.
“To ensure the safety of the public, staff and other airport users, a security cordon has been put in place whilst the matter is dealt with. As a precaution, an EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team is being deployed to the airport. This is causing significant disruption and some roads around the South Terminal have been closed. We’d advise the public to avoid the area where possible,” it said.
Footage on social media taken outside the airport showed crowds of frustrated travellers being moved away from the terminal building.
Gatwick said it was working hard to resolve the issue.
“A large part of the South Terminal has been evacuated as a precaution while we continue to investigate a security incident," the airport said in a social media post.
“Passengers will not be able to enter the South Terminal while this is ongoing. The safety and security of our passengers and staff remain our top priority. We are working hard to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.”
Train and bus services that serve the airport were also impacted while the police carried out their inquiries.
In an unrelated incident in south London on Friday morning, the US Embassy area in Nine Elms by the River Thames was the scene of a controlled explosion by Scotland Yard dealing with what they believe may have been a “hoax device”.
“We can confirm the 'loud bang' reported in the area a short time ago was a controlled explosion carried out by officers,” the Metropolitan Police said in a post on X.
“Initial indications are that the item was a hoax device. An investigation will now follow. Some cordons will remain in place for the time being but the majority of the police response will now be stood down,” it added.
