WOW STORY OF THE DAY: Two 24-Year-Olds Built India's Most Author-Friendly Publishing Platform With 21,000 Titles in Print

Two 24-Year-Olds, an Acquisition, and a Mission That Found Its Purpose

BookLeaf Publishing was founded in 2016, connected to the broader publishing ecosystem of Alvira Publishing, a globally recognised entity. The platform was built on a simple but powerful insight: first-time authors needed a credible, trustworthy partner who could guide them from manuscript to global distribution without extracting the revenue that was rightfully theirs.

In 2017, the brand was acquired by Libresco Feeds Private Limited, with Musavir Khurshid and Shivangi Verma, both 24, taking over management and operations. That transition became the defining turning point. The company's cashflow shifted from an unpredictable graph into consistent profits. The community grew. And BookLeaf evolved into what it proudly calls itself today: a House of Literature.

Musavir Khurshid, CEO, is an author, a bibliophile, a painter, an occasional photographer, and a full-time entrepreneur whose hunger to always strive for better has shaped the brand's culture of innovation from the inside out. Shivangi Verma, COO, is devotedly involved in every dimension of daily operations and is herself an author and avid reader with multiple poetry collections to her credit, giving BookLeaf's leadership an authenticity that resonates deeply with every author they serve.

100% Royalties, One-Click Publishing, Audiobooks, and 21,000 Titles in Print

The most powerful and most disruptive decision BookLeaf ever made was a pricing and structure decision that no major traditional publisher would contemplate: 100% royalties to every author, on every book, always. No contracts extracting revenue shares. No editorial restrictions. No gatekeeping. Just a platform that said: this book is yours, this money is yours, and we are here to help you get it to the world.

That single commitment removed every barrier between an author and their readers, and it built one of India's most loyal publishing communities.

The platform offers editing, proofreading, book cover design, interior book design, ebook conversion, audiobook conversion, print-on-demand printing, global distribution, and book marketing, all through what Republic News India described as a single-click publishing process. The brand focuses primarily on poetry and fiction, two of India's most vibrant and underserved literary categories.

By November 2025, BookLeaf had 21,000-plus titles in print, 35% of recent sales coming through ebooks and audiobooks, and a growing presence in the live literary community through monthly open mic events across Delhi.

"Writers want ongoing engagement, and readers want to discover voices before they're published. These smaller events serve both needs," Musavir said.

A customer support team of 18 members ensures no author feels alone in the process, available five days a week from 10 AM to 6 PM IST, responding to every call and every email.

The Shark Tank Moment — Two Young Founders, Five Sharks, and a Room Full of Mentorship

BookLeaf Publishing appeared on Shark Tank India Season 4 Episode 20 on February 1 2025, with Musavir and Shivangi seeking ₹90 lakh for 5% equity at an ₹18 crore valuation before a panel of Vineeta Singh, Aman Gupta, Peyush Bansal, Anupam Mittal, and Varun Dua.

While a deal was not finalised on the show, the founders received invaluable mentorship from all five Sharks and gained national visibility that accelerated the platform's author community and brand recognition significantly. The appearance confirmed what the Indian literary community already knew: BookLeaf was building something genuinely different in a category that had been waiting for disruption.

Scale and Real-World Impact

The Most Powerful Publishing Platforms Are the Ones That Give Authors Everything Back

The sharpest lesson from BookLeaf Publishing's journey is this: the most enduring platforms in any creative industry are the ones that make access the founding principle, and respect the foundation.

Traditional publishing took a percentage of every author's earnings and called it a service. BookLeaf Publishing took nothing and delivered everything: editing, design, distribution, marketing, audiobooks, and a global reach, and then handed 100% of the proceeds back to the person whose voice created it all.

"Writers want ongoing engagement, and readers want to discover voices before they're published," Musavir says.

Two 24-year-olds. Twenty-one thousand titles. One hundred percent royalties. A community of readers, writers, and dreamers united by the belief that every story deserves to be told.

BookLeaf is building a world where it does.

Sources: ANI News, Republic News India, EntrepreneurTales, Viestories, RocketReach, Shark Tank Audits, YourStory