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In a February 12, 2017 interview with Scroll.in, Jayanta Kumar Bose, founder and CEO of Delhi-based Srishti Publishers, said most of the commercial-fiction authors on his list had come to the company through unsolicited manuscripts. He also said the team read the slush pile every week, rejected most submissions, and replied to every author individually. Those are his statements from 2017, not current company data. Srishti’s current Submissions page asks for something different at the first step: a proposal with sample chapters, not a full manuscript.
What Bose said about finding authors in 2017
Asked how Srishti found its commercial-fiction writers, Bose gave a single route. In the interview, he said: “We found most of these authors through one simple route: unsolicited manuscript submissions by young chaps who felt ‘if XYZ can write, so can I’.”
He also put a number on it. At that time, he said, nearly 85% of Srishti’s publishing list still came from unsolicited submissions. Treat this as a historical figure that Bose gave in 2017. It is not a verified share of the list today, and the interview does not show how it was counted.
How the slush pile worked, as he described it
Bose described an editorial routine built around the slush pile. In his words: “We have an editorial culture of going through the slush pile on a weekly basis, sifting through them and replying to everyone individually within two to three weeks of submission.”
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The same routine produced a high rejection rate. Bose said: “With a rejection ratio of almost 92%, we make it a point to send a reply to authors even when we are not publishing their work.” Three points are worth keeping separate:
- The rejection figure. Almost 92% is Bose’s own 2017 statement. The interview does not cite an audit or outside dataset for it.
- The reply promise. Bose said every author received an individual reply, within two to three weeks, in the process he described. That is also his account, not an independently checked record.
- The sample. The interview does not say how many manuscripts the team received in a given period, so the rejection ratio cannot be turned into an acceptance count.
The first commercial-fiction success: Tushar Raheja
In Bose’s telling, Srishti’s move into commercial fiction began with a specific manuscript rather than a plan to enter the genre. He said the deciding factor was a good manuscript. He describes receiving Tushar Raheja’s manuscript, editing its length, and publishing it as Anything For You, Ma’am, which he calls an overnight bestseller.
That description is Bose’s characterization. The sources behind this article do not include verified sales totals for the book, so “overnight bestseller” should be read as the publisher’s own assessment. The current availability of the title was also not checked for this article.
Srishti’s list and strategy, in Bose’s account
Bose traced his own path before Srishti. He started at Rupa in the late 1970s in accounts, moved into marketing and sales, and later led marketing nationally at Rupa-HarperCollins before taking on publishing and editorial responsibilities. He described an Indian market then dominated by international popular writers, with a smaller number of Indian literary authors.
Srishti, he said, began by promoting original Indian writing, including translated regional literature. It later added campus fiction, romance and commercial fiction, and then mythology, crime, fantasy, satire, political fiction and spy thrillers. He said the company chose to find and develop new authors rather than acquire established writers from other publishers. The interview also covers author retention, editorial staffing, his son Arup Bose’s role, and the publisher’s habit of reading the books it releases. These are Bose’s own statements about strategy and performance, not independently established market findings.
How to submit to Srishti today
The current guidance is on the publisher’s official Submissions page, which was accessed on October 8, 2026. It differs from the 2017 slush-pile account in several ways, so writers should not rely on the interview as a how-to.
- Check the scope. The page considers unsolicited English-language fiction and general nonfiction. It excludes textbooks and scientific or technical books.
- Prepare the core proposal. The page ideally asks for a detailed chapter-wise synopsis, three representative sample chapters, and a detailed author write-up.
- Write a concept note. It should explain the target audience, comparative titles, the unique selling point, and the word count.
- Add supporting material if useful. Other documents that help the editors judge the book are permitted.
- Hold back the full manuscript. The page says not to send it at this initial stage.
- Keep your own copies. The publisher asks submitters to retain copies of what they send.
- Wait for the reply. The team says it will reply within four to six weeks, whatever its decision. Reminders do not speed up review, so the page discourages them.
- Read a request for more as a request for more. A request for the complete manuscript means the publisher wants to consider more material. It is not an acceptance. Acceptance and terms are communicated formally.
2017 interview compared with current guidance
| Aspect | 2017 interview (Bose, Scroll.in, February 12, 2017) | Current Submissions page (accessed October 8, 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Nature of source | The publisher’s account of how the process worked at that time | The publisher’s current written instructions |
| Starting material | Unsolicited manuscripts, read from the slush pile each week | A proposal: chapter-wise synopsis, three sample chapters, author write-up and concept note; full manuscript not to be sent initially |
| Response time | Two to three weeks for an individual reply, as Bose described it | Four to six weeks, irrespective of decision |
| Rejection and feedback | Rejection ratio of almost 92%; Bose said every author received a reply | Individual reply; the publisher may not give a reason for rejection |
| Follow-up | Not stated in the interview | Reminders do not hasten review and are discouraged |
The two sources describe different stages of the same publisher’s process. The interview gives the 2017 practice in Bose’s words, and the Submissions page gives current instructions. The response times should not be merged into a single promise.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the evidence does and does not establish
- The 92% rejection ratio and the 85% share of unsolicited titles are Bose’s 2017 statements. No audited or independent dataset confirming them was found.
- “Overnight bestseller” describes how Bose characterized Anything For You, Ma’am. No verified sales total was found.
- The submission rules come from the publisher’s own page and can change. Check the Submissions page on Srishti’s website before you send anything.
Read together, the interview explains how a publisher with a slush pile described its discovery method at one point in time, and the Submissions page explains how a writer should approach it now.
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