Rachna Books is southasia’s Bookstore of the Year

Gangtok’s Rachna Books was awarded the Publishing Next Industry Award 2015 in the Bookstore of the Year category Panaji, Goa last Saturday, a press release informs.
Rachna Books was among the five bookshops shortlisted and nominated for the South Asia’s only award in the publishing industry. The award, for which Rachna Books had been nominated last year too, was announced at the event at the end of the 2-day conference. The event was held at Krishnadas Shama State Central Library in Goa.
Raman Shresta, the owner of Rachna Books, in his message on being informed about the award, conveys: “Running a bookshop is a labour of love. To be counted among the best certainly boosts our confidence. We are a small town bookshop with only a handful of dedicated readers - the number of whom visiting the bookshop is fast dwindling. It warms my heart to think of all the friendships that were forged over the years all because of our common love for books. It is also saddening to see how many friends have been lost as time has gone by.
“With this award coming our way, we are greatly encouraged to keep on keeping on and doing what we do best. I hope this news also encourages our region’s booklovers to come, visit us and share the pride and joy with us and be a part of something so good and totally deserving to be shared. This bookshop belongs to the booklovers after all. I just happen to be the lucky care-taker.”
A jury of 19 members judged the awards. They included personalities from the world of publishing, academia, journalism, and marketing and writing. Among the notable judges were Vivek Manezes – co-founder and festival curator of Goa Arts and Literary Festival; also, a widely published writer, photographer and traveller.
Publishing Next Conference has been conceptualized and organised by Cinnamon Teal Publishing.
The other six categories in which the awards are given out are: Publisher of the Year, Publishing Innovation of the Year, Printed Book of the Year, Digital Book of the Year, Printed Children’s Book of the Year and Book Cover of the Year.
This annual event brings together the best minds of the publishing and allied fields to discuss the present scenario and the future of publishing. The event was attended by several big names from the publishing industry- regional, national and from abroad.