Harper, Tokyopop Ink Manga Deal
Calvin Reid, reporting in Publishers Weekly, a trade magazine in New York that covers the book business around the world, notes in a recent column that HarperCollins books and Tokyopop have inked an important manga deal.
In a turnaround that highlights the sales potential of graphic novels and manga in the book trade, HarperCollins will take over the distribution of the Tokyopop manga list to the commerical book market. In addition, Tokyopop and HarperCollins will collaborate on developing manga adaptations of HarperCollins authors, beginning with the bestselling young adult novels of Meg Cabot.
Tokyopop CEO Stuart Levy says the deal “would expand the manga lifestyle into mainstream youth culture, building a new paradigm in entertainment, where east meets west and a new generation of multi-ethnic creators can flourish.”
Beginning with the Meg Cabot novels, the two publishers will look to collaborate on as many 24 manga adaptations of Harper prose novels, the first of which should appear in 2007. HarperCollins CEO Jane Friedman said she has been talking with Tokyopop for months about the copublishing deal. “I’ve met [Tokyopop CEO] Stu Levy and [Tokyopop Editor in chief] Mike Kiley and we clicked. I’ve been interested in manga for a long time.”
Friedman said she’s wanted to publish manga but she didn’t want to set up an in-house manga publishing unit. “We’ve been eager to enter the manga marketplace and I can think of no more powerful way than to join forces with Tokyopop.” Asked if she reads any manga herself, Friedman said she’s tried, “but I think this deal will mean more to my grandchildren.”
Interesting. I wonder if manga will eventually be as widespread as television, or if it’s just a fad that will fade away in time.
March 28th, 2006 at 10:52 pmHere is another news report:
Tokyopop Snatched by Harper, for Distribution and Co-Publishing
A little over a month after being highlighted in the NY Times for renewing their distribution agreement with CDS, Tokyopop has switched gears. Now the company says they will move their North American distribution to HarperCollins–which had been looking for a client of scale ever since Perseus left their distribution services and acquired CDS.
The new arrangement also features a co-publishing agreement to “create a progressive new line of co-branded manga titles” developed in conjunction with Harper authors and properties. Aiming for as many as 24 titles a year together, Tokyopop will “manage the creation of manga text and artwork in close consultation with the originating authors and HarperCollins editors.” Initial titles will include projects with bestselling author Meg Cabot. Harper takes over sales and distribution in mid-June, and co-published titles are expected to launch in 2007.
Tokypop publisher Mike Kiley, reached by phone in Bologna, said of the surprise switch, “The simplest way to characterize it is deals can fall apart.” He adds that, “In spite of everyone’s best intentions…there were some deal terms we simply weren’t able to come to agreement on,” and characterizes the impasse with CDS/Perseus as “not anything more dramatic and complicated than not being able to cross every t and dot every i.” The co-publishing concept with Harper was “very much a mutual” inspiration, Kiley says. The new line and new distribution will both align with Tokypop’s mission of moving “more into mainstream areas that are much larger than the niche that manga has historically occupied.”
Harper CEO Jane Friedman notes in the release, “We have been eager to enter the manga marketplace, and can think of no more powerful way than to join forces with TOKYOPOP, a company we have long admired as the leading manga publisher in North America.”
March 29th, 2006 at 1:36 amThat’s different, I figured Tokyopop was going to slowly start disapearing, they had a pretty big layoff recently, surprise surprise I suppose.
I’ve always been confused about something, how is Manga defined now-a-days?
For me it’s a short term for asian comics, but I’ve seen more and more ‘manga’ (released by Tokyopop) from american authors/artists, I assumed that was just plainly called a ‘comic’.
March 29th, 2006 at 2:26 amNo Sparky, it’s more like anything in the Japanese manga style nowdays, although you will have the purists cling to differentiating manga as a Japan-only product, manhua from Korea, and everything else being comics.
But about the deal, hey that’s great. Finally manga adaptations of novels for us simple intelictually-challenged folk.
Hey I’ve been waiting for War and Peace manga my whole life.. Haha.
March 29th, 2006 at 3:00 am