Knowledge as entrepreneurship: Dinesh Kulatunga shares journey and insights from business of publishing

 Dinesh Kulatunga with his recent award from China poses with his team and Chinese dignitary. From left: Shane Perera, Athula Jayakody, Dinesh Kulatunga, Zheng Haojie, and Samantha Indeewara

Knowledge is linked to world peace to promote individuals and communities to understand each other and resolve disputes through non-violent means. This is much needed in this world. Just as knowledge is considered essential for human survival, peace is crucial for the well-being and progress of societies. Peaceful environments foster stability, security, and the ability to focus on development and growth. They create opportunities for dialogue, cooperation, and the exchange of ideas, which in turn contribute to the accumulation and dissemination of knowledge. Books therefore can be described as the ideological vehicles of both knowledge and peace

In speaking of entrepreneurship potential of a country we can miss one key aspect; the scope for knowledge based start-ups. Within this sphere the arena of book publishing is a thread that holds the knowledge industry of a nation together. It has immense opportunities, if innovated upon to be a route of diplomacy that can take a country and its intellectuals, artistes and creative writers to the world. The publishing industry is also a seam that binds humanity together. In a globe fractured by wars, fears, suspicion and terror, the publishing industry has the capacity to be a holistic transforming mechanism. As a business, the publishing industry in modern times is challenged to innovate and integrate technology features in order to keep pace with younger generations.

Today the Harmony page features Dinesh Kulatunga, the founder of Neptune Publishers Pvt. Ltd., a Sri Lankan publishing house that has created a niche for itself internationally. In Sri Lanka it has paid equal attention to publishing books in the three official languages of the country, Sinhala, Tamil and English, contributing greatly to the mission of unity between communities. 

Dinesh Kulatunga is a member of the Sri Lanka Book Publishers Association since 2004 and is at present its Secretary General. He is the founder president of Read Plus Foundation, a collective of 12 publishing houses in Sri Lanka that focuses on a local as well as global approach to promoting reading. He is part of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) established in 1953 headquartered in Basel, Switzerland and heads the IBBY Sri Lanka operations. As one of its latest ventures, Neptune publishers last year introduced the Augmented Reality Talking books using heightened technology targeting the young generation.

Below are excerpts of the interview:

By Surya Vishwa 

Q: On 14 June you were bestowed with the 16th China Special Book Award by the Chinese Government. You are the first Sri Lankan publisher (in the Asian and South Asian Region) to receive this award. Could you explain its significance?

A: The Special Book Award of China is the highest national award given to those who have made outstanding contributions in introducing contemporary China and promoting Chinese publications and related cultural products overseas. It is awarded to international authors, translators, and publishers. The award was established in 2005 and this is the 16th year.

As part of my global focus, I have been translating and publishing Chinese books since 2016. Translations were done directly from Chinese language, translated by local translators and some books from the English language. Over 200 books pertaining to China, have been translated and published in Sinhala; some in all three languages of Sri Lanka; Sinhala, Tamil, English. Those include books about the Chinese Political System, Governance, Development, Environment, Disarmament, Children’s and Young Adult’s fictions and non-fiction and general fiction and non-fiction including award winning books. 

Q: Could you speak about how you got started in the publishing business in Sri Lanka and share insights on how to evolve in such a business so as to be sustainable and profitable over time?

A: I am a printer by profession. I commenced my career in printing as a part-time proof reader at a commercial printing press while reading for my external degree at Peradeniya University. My interest grew to learn printing as a subject though the industry was not that lucrative at the time. It was during the 1980s. After studying printing as a subject partly through the Sri Lanka Institute of Printing, but mainly self-studying with the help of foreign books, and hands-on experience, I was able to serve for a multinational company as an executive. Since then I had opportunities to visit abroad to participate in publishing and printing related exhibitions and further study about this interesting industry. 

In 1989 I resigned from my job and started my own company, but without printing equipment. The name of the company was TELE PRINT. I was able to connect with far away printers in Singapore and Malaysia for my printing work, and they were far ahead of technology at that time. I was fortunate to have a strong contact of one of the best design companies which supported me to get high quality print tasks done. While doing my printing assignments in those countries I gained more knowledge and exposed to new technology used by different parts of the world. Thereafter I went to Japan for another printing related assignment, and was able to follow a short-term course in Print Technology. 

Then in 1994, I had an opportunity to visit PRINT-PACK in Illinois, Chicago USA as part of an educative conference on printing. I spent two weeks there with a Sri Lankan group of printers and packaging entrepreneurs where I did not miss a single lecture during the five-day conference timeframe. I visited the grand exhibition and a few factories as part of the formal program, I attended. Those years were the most influential and memorable in my professional career. Then from 1999-2000 I devoted time to get my qualification through the Australian National Training Authority which was highly successful. 

Coming back to Sri Lanka I met a Dutch writer and worked together with him to produce a consumer guide ‘Hands-On-Colombo’. The readers we created it for were primarily foreign expatriates who lived in the Greater Colombo area. It was a very successful project. The author returned to Netherland in 2002 and I purchased the publication from him starting Neptune as a publishing business. Neptune published the last edition of ‘Hands-On-Colombo’ in 2012. The second publication of a similar kind Neptune focused on was ‘Info-travel Sri Lanka’ which covered the travel information for local and foreign visitors in 2004, and its 16th edition was published in 2016. In 2006 – 2009 four editions of ‘education Guide Sri Lanka’ was published covering all information of state and private education. 

Other than these information guides, we have since inception published hundreds of books such as on History, Heritage, Law, the Constitution, Culture, Anthropology, Archaeology and Literature, to mention just a few themes. Our English language books publications include the Bitter Berry Bondage on the 19th century coffee workers of Sri Lanka, by Donovan Mondrich, Caste in Sri Lanka by Asiff Hussein and Buddhist Monasteries by Prashantha Gunawardhana.

Q:Your publishing house; Neptune publishers, has tried a different model in sale and publishing which goes against the grain to the competition in the publishing industry. Could you explain?

A: We were doing all our publishing work as any other common publisher in a conventional way, but mostly I have selected books that have academic or cultural value. I started the publishing house with a clear business plan after studying vacuums in the industry in the local context. We did not invest in large bookshops but tried the opposite approach where our full attention was for the type of books we published and reaching an international audience. We are now focusing on international branches and more affiliations. 

Over the years I spent time on engaging diverse international stakeholders and markets. I prioritised different educative content. Almost all books that were published up to 2015 were in the English language. We did not have a big market, so all those books were limited editions, but in high value. It was initially merely for my personal interest to focus on valuable knowledge content. Soon we started getting a good income to maintain the commitment to such books as a commercial printing business. After 2005 Neptune shifted to do even more unique themes and search for good books to translate and publish. 

We started publishing in Sinhala and Tamil in a large scale. We strategised on creating an online book store and thereafter a virtual book store. We followed an integrated model and conceptualised online book fairs along with other publishers by forming a foundation. Since Neptune started to search for new ways and means to grow in publishing and marketing, we moved away from regular competition. This helps us to explore further space as the world of publishing evolves.

Q:What is Neptune doing at the moment to promote Sri Lankan authors globally?

A: Neptune is a founder member of the Sri Lanka National Section of the International Board on Books for Young people (IBBY). The Sri Lanka unit was established in 2018 and IBBY was established in 1953 headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, having today a membership of 83 countries. I am the current president of the Sri Lanka Section. Here we focus on Children’s and Young Adult’s books. 

In the past years we launched a project to select 100 books published within the last decade and promote those books to our member countries. It is in progress now. 

Other than children’s books we also have promoted Sri Lankan books on history and anthropology to other countries and those authors have already received the royalty payments. We have published many well-known academics and researchers. 

Q:Could you explain your global publishing work as a comparative analysis?

A: With regard to the Chinese Publishing Houses, my experience is that it is very easy to work with and negotiate. They have large scale operations and have a presence in every major book fair held all over the world.

Western Publishing companies are also very strong international chains. Reaching them and negotiating is not that easy. If you are simply purchasing books from them through their distribution channels that is not difficult, but to negotiate for purchasing copyrights for translation purposes or to sell our copyrights it is tough. Nevertheless we approached some companies and have got rights for translations of some books. Here we focused on books with Augmented Reality, and after realising that we are really serious they were very supportive. 

Q:You have proved knowledge sharing through publishing to be a lucrative business. Based on some of our discussions on collaborations and the past work especially with the Harmony page towards the Thribhasha language promotion concept, I understand you are currently thinking very widely on how you could innovate in linking knowledge and peace, using books as a means of diplomacy. Your comments?

A: Knowledge and peace are both essential for the survival and well-being of humanity. 

Knowledge encompasses information, facts, skills, and understanding about various aspects of the world. It enables individuals and societies to make informed decisions, solve problems, and progress in various fields such as science, technology, arts, and culture. Knowledge is not limited to any particular language; it can be communicated through various means such as written texts, visual representations and symbols. This universality of knowledge allows it to be shared and accessed by people from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds, promoting cross-cultural understanding and collaboration.

Knowledge is linked to world peace to promote individuals and communities to understand each other and resolve disputes through non-violent means. This is much needed in this world. Just as knowledge is considered essential for human survival, peace is crucial for the well-being and progress of societies. Peaceful environments foster stability, security, and the ability to focus on development and growth. They create opportunities for dialogue, cooperation, and the exchange of ideas, which in turn contribute to the accumulation and dissemination of knowledge. Books therefore can be described as the ideological vehicles of both knowledge and peace. 

All of the above makes publishing a business with endless opportunities. However one needs to be creative to entertain such opportunities. 

Q: Could you speak of your company’s current international presence?

A: During the pandemic and post pandemic time we tested our thoughts to get connected with local and overseas publishing houses and authors online. This led to the launching of a couple of books, some with the authors in the USA, and some from China. Those were very successful. Participants from many countries such as India, Australia, USA, China, and the UK were there. One such book we launched at Dambana with the leader Uruwarige Ettho about the aboriginal community in the presence of foreign representatives.

Also, recently, I was appointed as a member of the editorial board of the conference organised by the Russian Academy of Science Library on ‘VI International Scientific and Practical Conference on ‘Homo Legens’ in March 2023. 

With these international connections, there are many others which will take time to mention, we promote not only Neptune work, but also books of other Sri Lankan Publishers. 

Q:You have been a regular visitor to international book fairs. Could you comment on some insights Sri Lanka could learn from?

A: The primary purpose of a fair is to facilitate commercial transactions, networking, and business promotion.

Fairs usually involve a wide range of participants, including businesses, vendors, manufacturers, service providers, and sometimes individuals selling their own products. The participants are typically looking to generate sales, establish connections, or promote their offerings.

It is a special feature that book fairs promote copy rights. It is the main objective of a book fair other than selling books. Therefore, seminars and conferences, meetings with publishers and literary agents around the world to trade copy rights takes place with high importance. Without just being confined to selling books, Sri Lanka need to focus on such important activity during a book fair. 

Q: What could be done to make books affordable for Sri Lankans across diverse income levels?

A: The Government has a major role to play if a country needs knowledgeable citizens. The State can provide subsidies or financial incentives to publishers, bookstores, and libraries to reduce the cost of books. This can include tax breaks, grants, or direct funding to support book production and distribution. Currently the Government provides free textbooks to schoolchildren.

We need to promote book exchange programs: Promoting book exchange programs within communities or schools can create a sharing economy for books. Individuals can donate their books once they have finished reading them, and others can borrow or exchange books without incurring additional costs.

We need to promote digital platforms and e-books: Embracing digital platforms and e-books can significantly reduce the cost of books. The government also must seriously think of investing in the development of digital libraries and e-book lending platforms. They can also negotiate with publishers to provide affordable digital editions or subscriptions for readers.

We also need to introduce and promote a national book voucher through a book trust where you can get support from the public and even from Sri Lankan expatriates abroad. 

Q:Could you comment on technology innovation in publishing?

A: This is a must as the industry is ever evolving. We launched nine Augmented Reality (AR) books last year at the Book Fair at BMICH and it was a great success. This project was launched as a collaborative venture of Neptune and Goodreads and was the first ever set of AR books in the country. We will be launching local AR books in the near future.

We also launched audio books and those are available on metareads.com and e books along with them.