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{{Short description|Indian publisher}}
{{Primary sources|date=December 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox publisher
{{Infobox publisher
| image        = LeftWord Books Logo.png
| image        = LeftWord Books Logo.png
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| parent      =  
| parent      =  
| status      = Active
| status      = Active
| founded      = 1999
| founded      = {{start date and age|1999}}
| founder      = [[Prakash Karat]]
| founder      = [[Prakash Karat]]
| successor    =  
| successor    =  
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| nasdaq      =  
| nasdaq      =  
| url          = http://leftword.com/
| url          = http://leftword.com/
}}
|owner=[[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]]}}


'''LeftWord Books''' is a [[New Delhi]]-based publisher that seeks to reflect the views of the [[left-wing politics|Left]] in India and South Asia. Its Managing Director is [[Prakash Karat]], the former General Secretary of the [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]], or CPI(M).
'''LeftWord Books''' is a [[New Delhi]]–based publisher that seeks to reflect the views of the [[left-wing politics|Left]] in India and South Asia. Its Managing Director is [[Prakash Karat]], the former General Secretary of the [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]], or CPI(M).
The Chief Editor is [[Vijay Prashad]] and the Managing Editor is the actor-publisher Sudhanva Deshpande.<ref name=aboutus>
The Chief Editor is [[Vijay Prashad]] and the Managing Editor is the actor-publisher Sudhanva Deshpande.<ref name="aboutus">
{{cite web |title=LeftWord Books: About us |url=http://leftword.com/about-us#_amvo5zqu |accessdate=2015-01-15}}  
{{cite web |title=LeftWord Books: About us |url=https://leftword.com/aboutus |access-date=15 January 2015}}  
</ref><ref name=freemarket>
</ref><ref name=freemarket>
{{cite news |title=What's the 'Leftword' for free market? |date=15 May 2000 |url=http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/2000/05/15/stories/0215000k.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20150106195924/http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/2000/05/15/stories/0215000k.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 January 2015 |newspaper=[[The Hindu]] |accessdate=2015-01-06}}
{{cite news |title=What's the 'Leftword' for free market? |first=Hasan |last=Suroor|date=15 May 2000 |url=http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/2000/05/15/stories/0215000k.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20150106195924/http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/2000/05/15/stories/0215000k.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 January 2015 |newspaper=[[The Hindu]] |access-date=6 January 2015}}
</ref>
</ref>


== History ==
== History ==
LeftWord Books was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of ''Naya Rasta Publishers Private Limited''. It was conceived by a group of Leftist intellectuals including [[Prabhat Patnaik]], [[Aijaz Ahmad]], [[Tulika Books|Indira Chandrasekhar]], [[Prakash Karat]], [[V. K. Ramachandran]] and [[N. Ram]] and sometimes regarded as "the English publishing arm of the [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]]".<ref name=raredouble/> It is managed by the Managing Editor Sudhanva Deshpande, who had earlier worked with [[Tulika Books]] during 1994-98 and continues to be involved with the theatre group [[Jana Natya Manch]].  LeftWord differs from Tulika Books, according to Deshpande, by being explicitly Leftist.<ref name=Despande>{{cite web |title=Interview with Sudhanva Deshpande |url=http://notjustpublishing.in/interview/Sudhanva/Deshpande# |publisher=Not Just Publishing |accessdate=2015-01-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103183714/http://notjustpublishing.in/interview/Sudhanva/Deshpande |archive-date=2012-11-03 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
LeftWord Books was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of ''Naya Rasta Publishers Private Limited''. It was conceived by a group of Leftist intellectuals including [[Prabhat Patnaik]], [[Aijaz Ahmad]], [[Tulika Books|Indira Chandrasekhar]], [[Prakash Karat]], [[V. K. Ramachandran]] and [[N. Ram]] and sometimes regarded as "the English publishing arm of the [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]]".<ref name=raredouble/> It is managed by the Managing Editor Sudhanva Deshpande, who had earlier worked with [[Tulika Books]] during 1994 to 1998 and continues to be involved with the theatre group [[Jana Natya Manch]].  LeftWord differs from Tulika Books, according to Deshpande, by being explicitly Leftist.<ref name=Despande>{{cite web |title=Interview with Sudhanva Deshpande |url=http://notjustpublishing.in/interview/Sudhanva/Deshpande# |publisher=Not Just Publishing |access-date=5 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103183714/http://notjustpublishing.in/interview/Sudhanva/Deshpande |archive-date=3 November 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>


The company runs the `May Day Bookstore and Cafe' in New Delhi as well as Internet retailing, through which it sells books from various Leftist publishers including [[Tulika Books]]. It also has a membership-based book club, whose subscriptions served to form the seed capital of the publishing division. By mid-2000, the company established itself as a successful publisher with several well-subscribed titles.<ref name=aboutus/><ref name=freemarket/>
== May Day ==
[[File:May Day Bookstore.jpg|thumb|May Day Bookstore from the outside]]
The company runs the May Day [[Bookselling|bookstore]] and [[Coffeehouse|cafe]] in New Delhi which happens to the only left-leaning bookstore in the city, next to the [[Theatre|theater]] space, Studio Safdar. It lives in the vibrant neighborhood of [[Shadipur Depot|Shadipur]] in [[West Delhi district|West Delhi]], nearby the [[Shadipur metro station]].
 
== Internet Retail ==
It sells books via its website from various Leftist publishers including [[Tulika Books]]. It also has a membership-based book club, whose subscriptions served to form the seed capital of the publishing division. By mid-2000, the company established itself as a successful [[Publishing|publisher]] with several well-subscribed titles.<ref name="aboutus" /><ref name="freemarket" />


== Book series ==
== Book series ==
Line 38: Line 47:


== Selected titles ==
== Selected titles ==
* [[Mark Twain]], ''King Leopold's Soliloquy'', {{ISBN|818749655X}}.
* [[Fidel Castro]], ''The Gigantic Casino: Reflections on the World Financial Crisis'', {{ISBN|8187496827}}.
* [[Fidel Castro]], ''The Gigantic Casino: Reflections on the World Financial Crisis'', {{ISBN|8187496827}}.
* [[Hugo Chavez]], ''The South Also Exists'', {{ISBN|8187496568}}.
* [[Hugo Chavez]], ''The South Also Exists'', {{ISBN|8187496568}}.
* Carlos Ferrer, ''Becoming Che'', {{ISBN|8187496800}}.
* Carlos Ferrer, ''Becoming Che'', {{ISBN|8187496800}}.
* Teo Ballve, [[Vijay Prashad]], ''Dispatches From Latin America- Experimenting Against Neoliberalism'', {{ISBN|8187496584}}.
* Teo Ballve, [[Vijay Prashad]], ''Dispatches From Latin America- Experimenting Against Neoliberalism'', {{ISBN|8187496584}}.
* [[John Harriss]], ''Depoliticizing Development: The World Bank and Social Capital'', {{ISBN|184331049X}}. (also issued by London: Anthem Press).
* [[John Harriss]], ''Depoliticizing Development: The World Bank and Social Capital'', {{ISBN|184331049X}} (also issued by London: Anthem Press).
* [[E. M. S. Namboodiripad]], ''History, Society, and Land Relations: Selected Essays'', {{ISBN|8187496924}}.
* [[E. M. S. Namboodiripad]], ''History, Society, and Land Relations: Selected Essays'', {{ISBN|8187496924}}.
* [[Thomas Isaac]], Richard W. Franke, ''Local Democracy and Development: The Kerala People's Campaign for Decentralized Planning'', {{ISBN|8187496126}}. (also issued by Rowman & Littlefield, {{ISBN|0742516075}}, Spanish:''democracia local y desarrollo: compana popular de planificacion descentralizada de kerala'' and Portuguese: ''democracia local I desenvolupament companya popular de planificacio descentralitzkada de Kerala'').<ref name=raredouble>[http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/a-rare-double-for-isaac/article1281999.ece A rare double for Isaac, The Hindu, 22 June 2008]</ref>
* [[Thomas Isaac]], Richard W. Franke, ''Local Democracy and Development: The Kerala People's Campaign for Decentralized Planning'', {{ISBN|8187496126}} (also issued by Rowman & Littlefield, {{ISBN|0742516075}}<ref name=raredouble>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/a-rare-double-for-isaac/article1281999.ece |title=A rare double for Isaac|newspaper= The Hindu|date= 22 June 2008|first=Gouridasan |last=Nair}}</ref>
* [[Prakash Karat]], ''Subordinate Ally: The Nuclear Deal and India-US Strategic Relations'', {{ISBN|8187496738}}.
* [[Prakash Karat]], ''Subordinate Ally: The Nuclear Deal and India-US Strategic Relations'', {{ISBN|8187496738}}.
* [[Harkishan Singh Surjeet]], ''History of the Communist Movement in India, Vol. 1: The Formative Years, 1920-1933'', {{ISBN|8187496495}}.
* [[Harkishan Singh Surjeet]], ''History of the Communist Movement in India, Vol. 1: The Formative Years, 1920-1933'', {{ISBN|8187496495}}.
Line 52: Line 60:
* [[Aijaz Ahmad]], [[Irfan Habib]], [[Prabhat Patnaik]], ''A World To Win: Essays on the Communist Manifesto'', {{ISBN|8187496010}}.
* [[Aijaz Ahmad]], [[Irfan Habib]], [[Prabhat Patnaik]], ''A World To Win: Essays on the Communist Manifesto'', {{ISBN|8187496010}}.
* [[A. G. Noorani]], ''The RSS and the BJP: A Division of Labour'', {{ISBN|8187496134}}.
* [[A. G. Noorani]], ''The RSS and the BJP: A Division of Labour'', {{ISBN|8187496134}}.
* [[A. G. Noorani]], ''Savarkar and Hindutva: The Godse Connection'', {{ISBN|8187496282}}.
* A. G. Noorani, ''Savarkar and Hindutva: The Godse Connection'', {{ISBN|8187496282}}.
* [[Dwijendra Narayan Jha]], ''The Many Careers of DD Kosambi'', {{ISBN|9380118066}}.<ref>[http://www.outlookindia.com/printarticle.aspx?279686 The Master Revisited, Outlook, 6 February 2012] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402121615/http://www.outlookindia.com/printarticle.aspx?279686 |date=2 April 2015 }}</ref>
* [[Dwijendra Narayan Jha]], ''The Many Careers of DD Kosambi'', {{ISBN|9380118066}}.<ref>[http://www.outlookindia.com/printarticle.aspx?279686 The Master Revisited, Outlook, 6 February 2012] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402121615/http://www.outlookindia.com/printarticle.aspx?279686 |date=2 April 2015 }}</ref>
* [[Vijay Prashad]], ''The Darker Nations- A Biography of the Short-Lived Third World'', {{ISBN|8187496665}}.
* [[Vijay Prashad]], ''The Darker Nations- A Biography of the Short-Lived Third World'', {{ISBN|8187496665}}.
* [[Vijay Prashad]], ''War against the planet: the fifth Afghan war, imperialism, and other assorted fundamentalisms'', {{ISBN|8187496193}}.
* Vijay Prashad, ''War Against the Planet: the fifth Afghan war, imperialism, and other assorted fundamentalisms'', {{ISBN|8187496193}}.
* Archana Prashad, ''Environmentalism and the left: contemporary debates and future agendas in tribal areas'', {{ISBN|8187496444}}.
* Archana Prashad, ''Environmentalism and the left: contemporary debates and future agendas in tribal areas'', {{ISBN|8187496444}}.
* [[N. Ram]], ''Riding the nuclear tiger'', {{ISBN|8187496029}}.
* [[N. Ram]], ''Riding the Nuclear Tiger'', {{ISBN|8187496029}}.
* [[Praveen Swami]], ''The Kargil War'', {{ISBN|8187496045}}.
* [[Praveen Swami]], ''The Kargil War'', {{ISBN|8187496045}}.
* Parvathi Menon, ''Breaking Barriers: Stories of Twelve Women'', {{ISBN|8187496479}}.
* Parvathi Menon, ''Breaking Barriers: Stories of Twelve Women'', {{ISBN|8187496479}}.
Line 65: Line 73:
* Prabir Purkayastha, Ninan Koshy, M. K. Bhadrakumar, ''Uncle Sam's Nuclear Cabin'', {{ISBN|8187496746}}.
* Prabir Purkayastha, Ninan Koshy, M. K. Bhadrakumar, ''Uncle Sam's Nuclear Cabin'', {{ISBN|8187496746}}.
* Madhura Swaminathan, ''Weakening welfare: the public distribution of food in India'', {{ISBN|8187496088}}.
* Madhura Swaminathan, ''Weakening welfare: the public distribution of food in India'', {{ISBN|8187496088}}.
* [[Githa Hariharan]], ''From India to Palestine — Essays in Solidarity'', {{ISBN|978-93-80118-20-8}}.<ref>[http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-bookreview/searching-for-palestine-in-indias-israel-policy/article6099332.ece Searching for Palestine in India’s Israel policy, The Hindu, 10 June 2014]</ref>
* [[Githa Hariharan]], ''From India to Palestine — Essays in Solidarity'', {{ISBN|978-93-80118-20-8}}.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-bookreview/searching-for-palestine-in-indias-israel-policy/article6099332.ece |title=Searching for Palestine in India’s Israel policy|first=T. N. |last=Gopalan|newspaper= The Hindu|date= 10 June 2014}}</ref>
* [[K. Chandru]], ''Listen to My Case!'', {{ISBN|9788194475934}}


== References ==
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


[[Category:Publishing companies established in 1999]]
== External links ==
 
* {{OpenStreetMap link|n|6763955887|May Day Bookstore}}
 
[[Category:1999 establishments in Delhi]]
[[Category:Book publishing companies of India]]
[[Category:Book publishing companies of India]]
[[Category:Leftist organisations in India]]
[[Category:Leftist organisations in India]]
[[Category:1999 establishments in Delhi]]
[[Category:Publishing companies established in 1999]]

Latest revision as of 16:29, 10 January 2026


LeftWord Books
StatusActive
Founded1999; 27 years ago (1999)
FounderPrakash Karat
Country of originIndia
Headquarters locationNew Delhi
Key peopleSudhanva Deshpande, Vijay Prashad
Publication typesbooks
Nonfiction topicsLeftist views, Marxist theory
Owner(s)Communist Party of India (Marxist)
Official websitehttp://leftword.com/

LeftWord Books is a New Delhi–based publisher that seeks to reflect the views of the Left in India and South Asia. Its Managing Director is Prakash Karat, the former General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI(M). The Chief Editor is Vijay Prashad and the Managing Editor is the actor-publisher Sudhanva Deshpande.[1][2]

History[edit | edit source]

LeftWord Books was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Naya Rasta Publishers Private Limited. It was conceived by a group of Leftist intellectuals including Prabhat Patnaik, Aijaz Ahmad, Indira Chandrasekhar, Prakash Karat, V. K. Ramachandran and N. Ram and sometimes regarded as "the English publishing arm of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)".[3] It is managed by the Managing Editor Sudhanva Deshpande, who had earlier worked with Tulika Books during 1994 to 1998 and continues to be involved with the theatre group Jana Natya Manch. LeftWord differs from Tulika Books, according to Deshpande, by being explicitly Leftist.[4]

May Day[edit | edit source]

May Day Bookstore from the outside

The company runs the May Day bookstore and cafe in New Delhi which happens to the only left-leaning bookstore in the city, next to the theater space, Studio Safdar. It lives in the vibrant neighborhood of Shadipur in West Delhi, nearby the Shadipur metro station.

Internet Retail[edit | edit source]

It sells books via its website from various Leftist publishers including Tulika Books. It also has a membership-based book club, whose subscriptions served to form the seed capital of the publishing division. By mid-2000, the company established itself as a successful publisher with several well-subscribed titles.[1][2]

Book series[edit | edit source]

  • LeftWord Classics
  • SIGNPOST: The Issues that Matter

Selected titles[edit | edit source]

  • Fidel Castro, The Gigantic Casino: Reflections on the World Financial Crisis, ISBN 8187496827.
  • Hugo Chavez, The South Also Exists, ISBN 8187496568.
  • Carlos Ferrer, Becoming Che, ISBN 8187496800.
  • Teo Ballve, Vijay Prashad, Dispatches From Latin America- Experimenting Against Neoliberalism, ISBN 8187496584.
  • John Harriss, Depoliticizing Development: The World Bank and Social Capital, ISBN 184331049X (also issued by London: Anthem Press).
  • E. M. S. Namboodiripad, History, Society, and Land Relations: Selected Essays, ISBN 8187496924.
  • Thomas Isaac, Richard W. Franke, Local Democracy and Development: The Kerala People's Campaign for Decentralized Planning, ISBN 8187496126 (also issued by Rowman & Littlefield, ISBN 0742516075[3]
  • Prakash Karat, Subordinate Ally: The Nuclear Deal and India-US Strategic Relations, ISBN 8187496738.
  • Harkishan Singh Surjeet, History of the Communist Movement in India, Vol. 1: The Formative Years, 1920-1933, ISBN 8187496495.
  • Richard Levins, Talking about Trees: Science, Ecology, and Agriculture in Cuba, ISBN 8187496630.
  • Utsa Patnaik, The Agrarian Question In Marx And His Successors, ISBN 8187496606.
  • Aijaz Ahmad, Irfan Habib, Prabhat Patnaik, A World To Win: Essays on the Communist Manifesto, ISBN 8187496010.
  • A. G. Noorani, The RSS and the BJP: A Division of Labour, ISBN 8187496134.
  • A. G. Noorani, Savarkar and Hindutva: The Godse Connection, ISBN 8187496282.
  • Dwijendra Narayan Jha, The Many Careers of DD Kosambi, ISBN 9380118066.[5]
  • Vijay Prashad, The Darker Nations- A Biography of the Short-Lived Third World, ISBN 8187496665.
  • Vijay Prashad, War Against the Planet: the fifth Afghan war, imperialism, and other assorted fundamentalisms, ISBN 8187496193.
  • Archana Prashad, Environmentalism and the left: contemporary debates and future agendas in tribal areas, ISBN 8187496444.
  • N. Ram, Riding the Nuclear Tiger, ISBN 8187496029.
  • Praveen Swami, The Kargil War, ISBN 8187496045.
  • Parvathi Menon, Breaking Barriers: Stories of Twelve Women, ISBN 8187496479.
  • Ninan Koshy, Under the Empire: India's New Foreign Policy, ISBN 8187496525.
  • Govind Deshpande, Selected Writings Of Jotirao Phule, ISBN 8187496215,.
  • C. P. Chandrasekhar, Jayati Ghosh, The market that failed: a decade of neoliberal economic reforms in India, ISBN 8187496207.
  • Prabir Purkayastha, Ninan Koshy, M. K. Bhadrakumar, Uncle Sam's Nuclear Cabin, ISBN 8187496746.
  • Madhura Swaminathan, Weakening welfare: the public distribution of food in India, ISBN 8187496088.
  • Githa Hariharan, From India to Palestine — Essays in Solidarity, ISBN 978-93-80118-20-8.[6]
  • K. Chandru, Listen to My Case!, ISBN 9788194475934

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "LeftWord Books: About us". Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Suroor, Hasan (15 May 2000). "What's the 'Leftword' for free market?". The Hindu. Retrieved 6 January 2015.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Nair, Gouridasan (22 June 2008). "A rare double for Isaac". The Hindu.
  4. ↑ "Interview with Sudhanva Deshpande". Not Just Publishing. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  5. ↑ The Master Revisited, Outlook, 6 February 2012 Archived 2 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ Gopalan, T. N. (10 June 2014). "Searching for Palestine in India's Israel policy". The Hindu.

External links[edit | edit source]

Retrieved from "https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=LeftWord_Books&oldid=470230"
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