Sevem Seas Launches New "Light Novel" Imprint

LOS ANGELES, September 13, 2006) – Seven Seas Entertainment announced today the launch of its all-new "Light Novel" imprint. Light novels, as they are known in Japan, are a new form of prose fiction geared towards young adults and the manga-reading audience. The imprint will feature a distinctive and innovative trim size of 10.5cm x 15cm (approx. 4.1" x 5.9") that will be instantly identifiable along with an iconic feather logo that will represent the Light Novel line. What's more, all of Seven Seas' Light Novel titles will carry an affordable cover price of $7.95 each.

"We're confident that our new Light Novel imprint will finally get manga fans excited about novels," says Seven Seas' president Jason DeAngelis. "We've got some incredible content, so the rest is about price and format. Our bite-sized light novels will be the same dimensions as they are in Japan, and will be priced low in order to help expand the market."

Light novels have been growing in popularity among North American manga fans for some time now, but publishers have always reformatted them to appear as either standard mass market paperbacks or similar to manga. Seven Seas will be the first publisher to truly distinguish light novels as something unique, presenting them in a more authentic format comparable to Japanese light novel dimensions. These pocket-sized books will contain approximately 200-300 pages of prose, interspersed with manga-style illustrations and color inserts.

Seven Seas' new Light Novel imprint will launch in April 2007 with six titles that are all ongoing series: Ballad of a Shinigami, about a young female grim reaper; Pita-Ten, featuring the continuing adventures of Koge-Donbo’s loveable characters; Strawberry Panic, a popular "yuri" series set in a girl's dormitory; Kanokon, a love triangle comedy in the vein of Fruits Basket about a boy, a fox girl and a wolf girl; Gun Princess, an epic fantasy about a trio on a quest for the ultimate weapon in a magical world; and Vamp!, a comedic dark fantasy about vampire clans, a vampire princess, and the man who hunts them.

About Seven Seas Entertainment, LLC:

Established in 2004, Seven Seas Entertainment is devoted to producing original manga, comics, graphic novels, and youth literature, and bringing the best in Japanese licenses to North American audiences. The company's current line-up includes such original manga properties as Amazing Agent Luna, Aoi House, Destiny's Hand, Last Hope, No Man's Land, and Ravenskull; a trio of color collections of the hit webcomics Chugworth Academy, Earthsong, and Inverloch; and is currently releasing English language versions of Kashimashi and Boogiepop. Seven Seas launched its web site, www.gomanga.com, in October 2004, and has since become a daily stop for thousands of visitors eager to read manga online and contribute to an ever-growing forum community.