An exhibition featuring artworks submitted to Tokyopop's U.K. The Rising Stars of Manga competition will take place at the Museum of East Asian Art in Bath, England 21st August, 2007:

Reflecting the unique fusion of the traditional art of Japanese manga with Western characters, storylines and concepts, this exhibition uncovers a new range of beautiful and eye-catching illustrations from some of the UK's most talented emerging manga artists.

Source: ANN

From The Daily Cross Hatch comes part 1 of an interview with Paul Gravett, author of Manga: Sixty Years of Japanese Comics and his friend Nick Bertozzi.

Via: The Beat

After making its debut at this year's SDCC, Yen Press has issued a press release regarding its latest licenses:

Hot on the heels of a successful debut at this year's San Diego Comic-Con, the newly formed graphic novel imprint Yen Press has announced that Little, Brown Book Group UK will simultaneously distribute Yen's upcoming list in Britain beginning next month.

Source: MangaBlog

From theBookseller.com comes an article on Little, Brown Book Group's deal with Hachette Book's Yen Press manga in the U.K. The deal begins in September 2007 with 7 titles being released in the U.K.:

Little, Brown's science fiction and fantasy imprint Orbit will market the Yen Press list in the UK. Orbit business manager George Walkley said: "Orbit has been watching the development of the manga market closely, and we’re confident that in Yen Press we have found the ideal publishing partner.

From ComicBitsOnline.com (via MangaBlog) comes an interview with Sweatdrop Studios member Emma Vieceli, a winner of Tokyopop's first UK and Ireland Rising Stars of Manga competition.

From Anime UK News comes an interview with Paul Gravett, author of Manga: Sixty Years of Japanese Comics, who talks about manga adapts to the big screen as well as the influence of anime on Japanese culture.

Anime UK News reports that Random House has announced a new graphic novel competition sponsored by The Observer and Comica:

Dear Comic and Graphic Novelist enthusiasts, Jonathan Cape, one of the finest Graphic Novel publishers in the UK, in association with The Observer and Comica are searching for new graphic artist talent with the chance to be published in The Observer and to win £1000. [...] The Prize will be judged by industry experts along with the bestselling authors Nick Hornby and Posy Simmonds. It is an exciting opportunity for all aspiring graphic novelists.

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uclick, a leader in mobile entertainment, has announced an agreement that brings the critically-acclaimed comic book series Umbra, by Stephen Murphy and Mike Hawthorne, to mobile phones throughout North America, UK, Australia and South Africa.

Kansas City, MO - June 27, 2007 -- uclick, a leader in mobile entertainment, has announced an agreement that brings the critically-acclaimed comic book series Umbra, by Stephen Murphy and Mike Hawthorne, to mobile phones throughout North America, UK, Australia and South Africa.

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The Japanese Embassy in the U.K. will be holding an exhibition called Manga Jiman (漫画自慢) from June 11th to June 19th.

The Embassy will also host a manga seminar titled "What is Manga?" and a major manga-writing competition in conjunction with the exhibition.

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According to Comic Book Resources, Hiroaki Samura's samurai manga Blade of the Immortal is the winner of the 2007 Eagle Awards's "Favourite Manga" category.