HarperCollins Publishers LLC has won a global auction to publish the authorized non-fiction Ratan Tata biography.
Unnamed sources have confirmed to Mint that HarperCollins has won a global auction for Ratan Tata biography. The book is written by former bureaucrat Thomas Mathew and it sheds light on the childhood, and college years of one of India’s most popular industrialists.
Aside from that, the book contains details about Ratan Tata’s early influences. Mathew had had access to the Tata Sons chairman emeritus’ correspondences, photos, and private papers for quite some time now.
Moreover, Mathew has documented some key events including Tata Motors launching the world’s cheapest car Nano. Also, he has documented a slew of recent events like Tata Steel acquiring Corus and the departure of former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry that raised quite a few eyebrows.
Ratan Tata Approves His Biography
The publication of the Ratan Tata biography has already received the approval of the 84-year-old industrialist, and philanthropist. To recall, Mathew has authored “Abode Under the Dome,” “The Winged Wonders of Rashtrapati Bhavan,” and other well-received books.
The winning bid is reportedly more than INR 2 crores.(about $269159). It includes worldwide rights of the print, audiobook formats, as well as ebook. However, the author will retain the rights for films and OTT (over-the-top) versions of the Ratan Tata biography.
A publisher told Mint that “The book saw a lot of interest. It’s definitely the biggest non-fiction deal from India.”
The publisher gives the author an advance amount for the rights to a book. When the publisher regains the amount from the book’s sales, the author is eligible for receiving a percentage from the sales in the form of royalties.
For those who are unaware, royalties can range from 5 percent to 15 percent of the sale price. Moreover, bidding figures are usually kept under wraps in book publishing.
In June 2021, Penguin Random House India delivered a set of inspirational stories about the Tata Group dubbed, #TataStories. Aside from that, the publishing house’s brand custodian Harish Bhat had compiled the collection.
Harvard University Press published “Tata: The Global Corporation That Built Indian Capitalism” in July. Mircea Raianu is the writer of the book.
In August, last year, Penguin Random House published another book on the Tata family, “The Story of Tata: 1868 to 2021”. Irish-American businessman Peter Casey had written the aforesaid book.
