MORE ON TOKYOPOP'S YA FICTION LINE

[MattBrady]

by Benjamin Ong Pang Kean

Last week, manga publisher TOKYOPOP unveiled Pop Fiction, a line of original and licensed young adult prose titles debuting in October. Priced between $7.99 and $10.99, Pop Fiction’s initial releases will feature serialized teen novels by international creators, from Europe's best-selling Magic Moon to Asia's hottest titles, Scrapped Princess, Kino no Tabi: Book One of The Beautiful World and Witches' Forest: The Adventures of Duan Surk.

Tokyopop has published a few prose novels based on its manga properties such as Slayers, .hack//AI buster, .hack//Another Birth, CLAMP School Paranormal Investigators, Gravitation, Devil May Cry, Love Hina, Seikai: Crest of the Stars and Mobile Suit Gundam Seed but Pop Fiction is its biggest foray into the YA prose market.

“Pop Fiction titles will be placed in the YA section of the bookstore, not the manga section like the manga novels,” Nicole Monastirsky, Senior Editor of Pop Fiction told Newsarama. “That being said, the decision to put them in the Pop Fiction imprint as opposed to the manga novel is editorial in nature. All of the manga novels are based on popular anime or manga properties and really meant for the otaku, while Pop Fiction might have some titles that have roots in anime or manga, yet we believe they are more mainstream and will appeal to non-manga fans.”

Monastirsky started her publishing career about eight years ago at a publishing house in Los Angeles called Lowell House. She was a managing editor for an imprint that produced both juvenile and adult titles. “I was there about three years--learning the ins and outs of publishing (that's the good thing about a small house, you can really wrap your head around a lot of industry aspects) until our office was closed and our company got bought out by McGraw Hill. Next stop, editor at a calendar and gift publishing company called Avalanche Publishing, worked on licensed calendars and teen/tween back-to-school products, worked with Teen People magazine, got really interested in anything and everything teen. Worked there around three years as well.”

Then she got a call from TOKYOPOP Publisher Mike Kiley. “[He] had seen my resume somewhere and wanted to know why I had never applied. I told him I knew nothing of manga and he said that was fine because they were interested in pursuing novels, which was my bag. One thing led to another and here I am.

“When I first started at TP, we already had a couple of licensed novels in the hopper,” she recalled. “They had never done novels before and since I had publishing experience, I had all these ideas as to how these books should be done. I wanted to start a new imprint and change the trim and position the books in the YA section of the bookstore, but that approach was a little too extreme for TP at the time. So, basically, since I never really got to do what I wanted to do with those books, I just kept on pushing to have a teen line of books. And I knew what I wanted these books to emote--a rawness, truth, edge, purity...

“And then, an extremely talented designer, Al-Insan Lashley, guided by our amazing Art Director Anne Marie Horne, came up with a cover design for Scrapped Princess that blew my mind. It embodied everything that I had imagined. And then all the pieces started to come together and the line began to take shape.”

So, what's the criteria for creators/writers who're interested in writing for Pop Fiction? “We're really drawn to writers who are a little dark, have a bit of an edge, and are very comfortable with writing for the YA audience.

Is it open to creators of existing properties (licensed or global manga)? “It's open to anyone, but we're really looking for published novelists.”

The editor said that there are currently no plans to produce manga versions of these Pop Fiction books.

Monastirsky explained that some of the Pop Fiction titles will have illustrations because the original books have illustrations. However, art is not a requirement. “More likely than not, they won't have illustrations and most of the "original" properties will not have art,” she added.

One of the original properties to be published under the Pop Fiction is Alex, Unlimited, currently scheduled to be released in May 2007.

Alex, Unlimited is a series of novels by Dan (JSA: The Liberty Files, Firestorm) Jolley. The premise? “Alexandra Benno has a unique problem: she was born with the ability to summon parallel-dimension versions of herself to Earth. These alternate-reality versions of Alex are always idealized in one way or another; they're the smartest, or fastest, or toughest version of her on their world, and are unfailingly tall, graceful and beautiful. The problem? Alex herself is a clumsy, thoroughly average girl with frizzy hair and the figure of a twelve-year-old boy. Alex is eighteen now, and she's found a definite niche: the United States government uses her and her duplicates for top-secret espionage work. The world is becoming more and more dangerous, with a proliferation of super-high-tech weaponry on the global black market, and specialization is the key: they need someone who speaks flawless Mandarin Chinese? Alex can summon that version. They need someone who can overpower ten men single-handedly? Alex can serve that one up, too. But Alex has to be within half a mile of her duplicate, or the duplicate zaps back to her home dimension. Consequently, Alex - who is the truly indispensable member of the team - is always stuck being her own sidekick, as the idealized version of her gets all the recognition and credit from their government handlers. Alex, Unlimited is a story about being overshadowed, and learning to play the hand life deals you in the best possible way.

“In January, we're releasing two new Pop Fiction titles: Calling You and Chain Mail, both are only one volume,” Monastirsky added.

“Calling You by Otsu Ichi - A unique, beautifully crafted and truly unpredictable collection of stories that examines the hidden truths behind what makes us truly human. Here a girl creates a cell phone in her imagination, from which she can communicate with others... A young boy discovers his new friend has the power to heal others--and learns about true friendship and sacrifice... The healing power of love confronts the tragedy and horror of a deadly train accident.

“Chain Mail by Hiroshi Ishizaki - The premise is simple: four disillusioned Tokyo teenagers who have never met are drawn together by a mysterious chain mail sent to their cell phones. In the tradition of classical Japanese tanka poetry, they each take on a role: the schoolgirl stalked by an older boy, the stalker, the schoolgirl's boyfriend, and the female detective. The further along in the story, the more the boundaries between reality and fantasy begin to blur. Written in each character's point of view, Chain Mail carries the reader on a suspenseful adventure juxtaposing teenage angst against a colorful Tokyo backdrop.”

One other “big” title under the Pop Fiction imprint is Fuyumi Ono's popular The Twelve Kingdoms series of novels, slated for March 2007.

As of right now, TOKYOPOP will have 10 Volume 1s in 2007, and 26 total releases. “I want the publishing industry to not know what hit them. I want the teens to feel like they're experiencing something new and I want them to feel safe to just be who they are,” Monastirsky concluded.

[LunarDaydreamer]

I can't wait! the anime is flat out sensational and I cant wait to own/know more ^_^

[Mundungus]

Those are some awesome cover designs.

[CitC]

I am going to read the article later, but I wanted to post now to say how wonderful those covers are (drat - someone beat me to it).

[psycha]

Those are nice cover designs but I don't like how they're all similar in design, considering they're all different books/series.

[Poppabie]

those covers are amazing. comics need more of that kind of grapic design. That Kino No Tabi cover is quite honestly a thing of beauty