From MangaCast comes news of several new licenses from Deux Press and Aurora Publishing (via Shuchaku East):

Aurora:

• HitoHira by Kirihara Idumi

Deux Press:

• Shiba to Issho. by Kirishima Tamaki
• Lovers & Souls by Miyamoto Kano
• Two of Hearts by Miyamoto Kano
• Maid in Heaven by Shimada Hisami
• Oh, My God by Shino Natsuho
• Heavenly Body by Kanzaki Takashi

According to the Diamond Previews via MangaCast, Aurora Publishing will be releasing Izumi Kirihara's Hitohira volumes 1 and 2 in October and December.

Also, ANN points out that Aurora's BL imprint Deux Press will be releasing four titles in July/August:

• Heavenly Body by Takashi Kanzaki
• Maid in Heaven by Hisami Shimada
• Ruff Love by Tamaki Kirishima
• Two of Hearts by Kano Miyamoto (announced at Yaoi-Con last October)

In the latest installment of Flipped, David Welsh interviews Aurora Sales and Marketing office's Michael Perry to talk about the young publisher's origins, strategy and philosophy:

DAVID WELSH: Aurora is the North American arm of Ohzora, a Japanese publisher. Could you explain how that relationship works? Will Aurora exclusively publish translated works from Ohzora, or will you be working with other publishers as well?

MICHAEL PERRY: Aurora Publishing, Inc. is a fully owned subsidiary of Ohzora Publishing, Co. To simplify that, it means that we are the American office of Ohzora Publishing, come to bring manga to America. We keep a close relationship with our parent company and have people at Ohzora Publishing that solely look to license manga for us to translate into English, which I believe would answer your next question: we do publish from other companies.

Torrance, CA (December 13, 2007) ­ Aurora Publishing, Inc., the fully-owned U.S. subsidiary of Japan's manga powerhouse, Ohzora Publishing Co., launches three new websites for their three manga imprints ­ Aurora, Luv Luv & Deux.

Aurora ~ Experience the Allure of Manga

Aurora, the Shojo/Josei Manga imprint of Aurora Publishing, Inc. premieres their colorful and exciting full-featured website at www.aurora-publishing.com. The newly launched site contains details about current and future manga title releases, as well as titillating manga page previews taken from the interiors of each of their current, new and upcoming manga. Visitors to the site also have the opportunity to sign up for Aurora's informative and entertaining monthly newsletter.

Read More »

The First Three Titles of Luv Luv's Romantic and Sexy 2008 Line Up Announced!

Torrance, California (October 22, 2007) - Aurora Publishing, Inc. brings "passionate manga for women" to America with their new Luv Luv imprint. Extremely popular in Japan, but never before available as a genre in the U.S., Ladies Comics are romantic, hot and sexy manga about modern women and the men they love. Manga from Luv Luv feature more realistic sexual content and more mature storylines and themes than are presently found in the manga currently available to women in America. All of the Luv Luv graphic novels depict romantic and physical relationships with nothing held back. Why let guys have all the fun? More information can be found on the Luv Luv website: www.luvluv-press.com, which is set to go live on December 1, 2007.

Read More »

According to its latest blog post, Broccoli Book's yaoi imprint Boysenberry imprint will have a booth at this year's Yaoi-Con, with Delivery Cupid and Pet on Duty available at the booth.

Also mentioned was a possible cooperation with Aurora Publishing at Yaoi-Con:

Editor Samantha & I had a meeting w/ Aurora Publishing today. Mainly for information exchange & how we can work together at Yaoi Con.

MangaBlog and Yaoi Suki both point to several new licenses from Aurora Publishing and its yaoi imprint Deux:

Aurora Publishing:

• Flock of Angels by Shoko Hamada
• Nightmares for Sale by Kaoru Ohashi

Deux:

• Hate To Love You
• I Shall Never Return by Kazuna Uchida
• Spring Fever by Yugi Yamada

In the latest issue of PWCW, Kai-Ming Cha takes an in-depth look at Aurora Publishing in "New Manga House Debuts This Summer."

Also featured on PWCW is an article by Brigid Alverson on the second anniversary of Viz Media's Shojo Beat magazine.

Icv2 has published an article looking at the new shojo publisher Aurora Publishing, its line-up, as well as the new Deux Line of manga.

According to a news post on Aurora Publishing's website, the manga publisher will release Chihiro Tamaki's Walkin' Butterfly later this summer:

Walkin' Butterfly" is the story of the metamorphosis of Michiko, set in the world of Japanese high fashion. As a tall girl, Michiko has never fit in… literally. She has always felt different and she can't accept herself. Her height is matched only by her complex about it. While delivering pizzas at a fashion show she is mistaken for a model and thrust on stage. Mihara, the show's designer, confronts her and tells her that she can't walk down the catwalk because she doesn't know her true self. From that moment on, Michiko is determined to find her place in the world as a model, and as a young woman. Can she find the inner strength to undergo a spectacular transformation? Is Michiko up to the challenge? Just try her. "Walkin' Butterfly" is as chic as a Tokyo catwalk.

Via: MangaCast