Profile of a leading publishing house

Syed Zakir Hossain

With the slogan, “Adorn Books Adorn Life”, Adorn Publication has published around 500 books so far. The publishing house aims to combine education with enjoyment. Adorn also wants to generate global interest in Bangla literature through translations.
Adorn is one of the leading publishing houses in Bangladesh. It publishes educational, academic and scholarly books -- both in English and Bangla. The publishing house was set up in 1996, and has its main office in Dhaka, with a branch office in Chittagong. Adorn has been instrumental in encouraging reading habit in the country.
Syed Zakir Hossain, publisher and chief executive officer of Adorn Publication, elaborates on the publishing house's achievements:
“We have published (in English and Bangla) essays, poetry, novels and research works on political history, economics, environment, agriculture, gender issues, the Liberation War etc. I have always tried to use my skills in publishing to popularise books on our culture, traditions and history.”
Adorn Publication has brought out several works by veteran writers and academics -- Abu Rushd; Dr. Anisuzzaman; Professor Kabir Chowdhury; Anisur Rahman; Mahfuzur Rahman; Hasnat Abdul Hai; Justice Golam Rabbani; Rashed Khan Menon; Anu Muhammad; Shamsur Rahman; Syed Shamsul Haq; Dr. Abdul Matin; Biprodas Barua; Abul Kasem Fazlul Haq; Dewan Shamsul Arefin and Urmi Rahman, among others.
“We have a series of publications on the Language Movement (in Bangla and English). Noted poet Abdul Mannan Syed edited the series. Recently we published two sets (about 24 books) of literary works, titled “Shahityo Kriti Granthomala” highlighting fiction by iconic writers Mir Mosharraf Hossain, Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay, Bibhuti Bhushan Bandapadhya, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Buddho Dev Bose, Satinath Bhaduri and others. Dr. Anisuzzaman has edited the works,” says Hossain.
Some voluminous publications also enhance Adorn's reputation, such as Justice Muhammad Habibur Rahman's “Tagore, Ibsen and Other Essays”; Zillur Rahman Siddiqui's “Bangla Literature and Other Essays”; Syed Shamsul Haq's “Neel Dangshon” (“The Blue Sting”, translated by Kabir Chowdhury); Selina Hossain's “Life is Beautiful”; Anu Muhammad's “Orokkhito Desh, Orokhito Manush”; Haroonuzzaman's “Bengali Bauls Series” and Murtaja Baseer's collection of selected poems, titled “Fresh Blood, Faint Line”.
Adorn has also published works by promising writers including Saymon Zakaria, Shahnaz Munni, Kabir Chan and Ahmed Mustafa Kamal.
The house regards editing to be crucial. “We have a skilled editorial board, which comprises noted academics, scholars and writers. Before publishing a book, we send the documents or manuscripts to the editorial board for close reviews.
“My main concerns are the quality of the books, their images and illustrations. Badly edited works are likely to mar the reputation of the publishing house. I also feel that we need better translators. We need to establish an institution that can provide efficient editors and publishers,” says Hossain.