NEW DELHI: Maintaining that there was no external pressure behind its decision to not publish Sonia Gandhi’s memoir, Penguin Random House India Monday said there was an impasse over “a particular issue” during discussions on ‘Belonging: A Journey of Love’.The publisher didn’t disclose the contentious issue, citing “agreement and author confidentiality”. The fresh clarification comes amid a controversy over the India publication of Sonia Gandhi’s much-anticipated memoir following an announcement by the US-based Alfred A Knopf, an imprint of Penguin Random House, that the book would be released worldwide on Nov 10.Several Congress functionaries have raised issues of governmental pressure and freedom of expression.In its latest statement, PRHI specifically rejected suggestions that the decision was driven by outside intervention. “We feel it is important for us to correct certain misrepresentations regarding the forthcoming memoir ‘Belonging’. This is a book that we at Penguin Random House India were really keen on publishing as it was a hard-won acquisition,” PRHI spokesperson Pallavi Narayan said.
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“Since the content of the book is confidential and under embargo, there was no external pressure whatsoever.” The publisher said the manuscript had gone through its “normal editorial process” during which several points were raised and deliberated upon with the author’s representatives.“On some, they agreed to changes and on others, we accepted the author’s position. Unfortunately, and ultimately, an understanding could not be reached on a particular issue,” it said.The author’s team subsequently informed the publisher that they did not wish to proceed with the publication, PRHI said, adding that it respected their decision.“Since we are bound by an agreement, and author confidentiality is paramount to us, we will not divulge details of what led to the impasse,” Penguin said.
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