Willthe magic of printed books ever die or diminish? Perish the thought. Globaltrends establish that respect for the written word is increasing. “Every 10seconds, a book is purchased on Flipkart. No exaggeration” claims LeonardFernandes, the convenor of the Margao Book Club. Leonard and his wife Queenie havetaken the initiative to provide a platform for lovers of books to meet andinteract on the last Saturday of every month.
“Theconcept has been well accepted and the response is heart-warming in the lastfive months” says Queenie, naming some enthusiastic regulars like Adv CaetanoMascarenhas, Dr Belinda Viegas, M A Chacko, Augustino Vaz, Jessica Faleiro,John Carmo Rodrigues, Xavier Cota, Luis Correia Alfonso.
“TheMargao Book Club is an open platform. Neither age nor language is a bar. Nomembership fee. One can choose any good book, read it and talk on it. Authorsand readers enjoy these sessions so much so that we begin at 4.30pm, but don’tknow when we conclude. When all havesaid what they wanted to say, we call it a day” says Leonard who plans to shiftthe venue from his office in Adolfa Mansion to District Library, when the groupexpands. The club will have two separate sections there “ for adults andchildren.
Whatmade the couple start this club? Leonard answers “Panjim is the city whereeverything happens. People from down South had very less scope to participatein literary meets. So we started Margao Book Club to allow them have a platformof their own, to share their views on books.”
AnIT engineer Leonard with his better-half Queenie, a Masters in Economics,ventured into book publishing in 2006 after their successful stint in runningan online book store. To offer beyond books, they conceptualised the MargaoBook Club, a purely non-business activity. It is a step taken to offer more totheir clients, who are authors and readers. The club is gaining popularity at afast pace. “This is a positive sign”feels Queenie. Adding in the same breathshe quips, “It opens up horizons to newer subjects, broadens one’s view onreading habits and connects authors to their readers.”
Goais emerging as a publishing hub. The Goa Art and Literature Festival will be inits third year in December 2012. Many Indian and international authors areliving in Goa, some have made it their second home. Add to this, more Goans arepublishing their books.
Leonardclaims he sells 800 books every month and has published 250 books of 220authors in various languages including Polish. He sells 80-100 copies of eachauthor with the maximum sale of one author being 2,500 books.
PublishingNext-2011 was his concept that attracted crowds. “We are organising PublishingNext-2012 in September” he announces. Looking at the scenario, one feelsassured that the future of books is safe in Goa.
