Penguin's Quick Lit for E-Book Enthusiasts

Image: Corbis

In 2011, Amazon launched kindle singles, novella-length, non-fiction and long-form journalism mainly. At a dollar a pop, these singles (a riff on the music industry’s term for single tracks released for sale on their own, as opposed to albums) quickly earned praise and a following.

Now, India’s publishing biggie, Penguin, has put out a set of what they’re calling ‘e-singles’: Around 2,500 words each, only in electronic format, Ananth Padmanabhan, vice president, sales, at Penguin india, told us, “Our aim to provide a rich and exhaustive catalogue of digital books for every kind of reader, from anywhere, using any device, who wants to read anything, full books, or singles.” The list at launch doesn’t quite live up to that—there are just under 50 titles available, and they’re all short fiction from larger collections—but at Rs 25 each, for the hard-core reader, they’re a cheap way to sample a new author, and for the ADHD [Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder] affected, handheld device generation, they fit their shortened attention spans quite neatly. They are available only on Flipkart and Google Play.