Not accurate: Penguin India refutes reports on Sonia Gandhi's memoir
What's the story
Penguin Random House India has clarified that it is not the publisher of Sonia Gandhi's upcoming memoir, "Belonging: A Journey of Love," in India. The clarification comes after reports suggested that the publisher had dropped the book after Sonia rejected "editorial changes and deletions" sought by the publisher. In a statement, it said, "Any suggestion that Penguin Random House India decided not to publish Belonging because the author declined editorial changes does not accurately reflect the circumstances."
Continued interest
Penguin Random House India's position on the matter
"As a publisher, it is both our prerogative and our responsibility to fact check and provide authors with recommendations that are in the best interests of their books," it added.
Penguin Random House India also maintained its interest in publishing Gandhi's memoir.
"Throughout the relevant discussions, Penguin Random House India's position was that we remained willing and keen to publish the book," it said.
Twitter Post
Statement by Penguin
Penguin Random House India official statement. pic.twitter.com/2g8y3F1p7m
— Penguin India (@PenguinIndia) August 28, 2026
New publisher
Other Indian publishers are now in the fray
With Penguin Random House India out of the picture, other Indian publishers are now vying for the rights to publish Gandhi's memoir.
HarperCollins is reportedly close to finalizing a deal for its publication and distribution in India.
The memoir was slated for international release on November 10 through Alfred A Knopf, a Penguin Random House imprint, with an initial print run of 1 lakh copies.
Book
'This book is a homage to their humanness'
"Much has been written about my family, but few narratives were able to reach into the truth of their motivations, their actions and even their very human failings," Gandhi earlier said in a statement through Knopf.
"In many ways, this book is a homage to their humanness."
TOI reported that an e-commerce listing showed an ebook edition of the memoir available for pre-order at ₹ 2,615, with William Collins, an imprint of HarperCollins UK, listed as its publisher.