a milestone for independent publication industry in Nepal. The book has been printed in three editions. The regular edition priced at Rs 300, the student edition priced at Rs 100, and the English edition. “With this print Palpasa regular edition enters its 18th re-print and the total print run reaches 52,000,” confirmed Kiran Krishna Shrestha of nepa~laya, the publishers of Palpasa Café. “To add freshness, the new edition will come with a fresh cover,” he added.[break]
Wagle was also awarded with the Madan Puraskar in 2061 BS and has been setting records and breaking them since it was first published.
“Sales of Palpasa Café exceeding 50,000 means there are readers who can and will buy good books when they are made available in the market. It is a milestone in the history of the Nepali publication industry,” said historian and publication enthusiast Pratyoush Onta.
“I am indebted by the continuous overwhelming response to my book. I thank my readers and well wishers for this acceptance,” said Narayan Wagle.
The English edition of Palpasa Café has since been sublicensed to a Delhi based multinational publication – Random House for the Indian Subcontinent and a Korea based publication house, Forest of Literature has translated and published it in Korean.
Wagle’s second book – Mayur Times was released in 2009 and has sold more than 15,000 copies till date.
Did you think that your book would be so successful?
In the beginning, when I was writing it, I didn’t think of how much it would sell at all. After I completed it, I gave it to nepa~laya and I must say, they marketed it pretty well.
What do you think about when you are writing a book?
I don’t have any particular working style. I get random ideas and I work on it. I try and develop interesting characters and once I do that, I further develop the characters that I am attached to. Then it’s the plot. I get ideas from the different phases of the society and since I’m a full time journalist, it was sort of an experiment for me that a story can be told in detail even when you’re working and busy 24/7 in the newsroom.
How do you feel about your book going to print for the 18th time?
Palpasa Café is a situation and time based book. It was published during the people’s war of the Maoists and people connected to it and are still connecting to it and I hope it stays that way. I am very happy that it’s getting printed again and this shows that the Nepali book market has a good scope. A Nepali book would maximum sell 5,000 copies but this has set a new benchmark and is significant in the Nepali book market.
Can we expect a book from you anytime soon?
Not so soon I must say but I am working on a couple of ideas. Some fiction and some non-fiction but I don’t know which one will kick off and when. I guess only time will reveal that.
Related story
Wagle all set for ‘Koreana Coffee Guff’
