Your Favorite Publisher’s Favorite Publisher
Most readers don’t have a favorite imprint—most probably couldn’t even name more than a handful. But it’s possible you could have a favorite—or a few favorites—without even realizing it.
The Emergence of New Manga Imprints and Print Adaptations of Webcomics
Are you a fan of manga? Are you someone who would rather scroll through Webtoon than your Instagram feed? Are you a webcomic creator with a dream to publish? You’re in luck because in recent years, there’s been a growth of imprints tailored towards manga, manhwas, manhua, webcomics, graphic novels, and light novels.
Bookstore Communities Part 2: Bookstores as Havens for Marginalized Identities
Historically, bookstore communities have risen spectacularly to the occasion in times of crisis, and they continue to do so. This is especially true in bookstores that focus on specific minority identities, such as the Black and queer communities. These communities have faced, and continue to confront, threats from a prejudiced world that targets them.
Part 1: The Community Building Power of Indie Bookstores
At the end of the day, it can be intimidating to use what little energy you have left to get out of your comfort zone and connect with a wider community. Many indie bookstores have taken on the burden of organizing events and services that address a wide range of patron needs—everything from social engagement to meaningful activism.
YA Fiction: Conscientious or Contentious
What defines a story as “young adult”: the protagonist’s age, the reading level, the story’s contents, the specific themes, or the intended audience? More concerning, how might the presence of a marginalized identity (e.g., BIPOC, feminine, LGBTQ+, disabled) color one’s perception of what is considered—and acceptable—“YA” fiction?
Managing Scope in a Commissioned Project
As we have entered the Fall 2025 term, I have had to readdress what the Quick Start Guide project is and its relevance to the publishing industry we hope to soon enter. Most importantly, there has been a major alteration to the scope of the project.
Cartoons and Censorship: Concerning Current Challenges to Comics
Especially in a visual culture and literacy crisis, images are more immediately and widely accessible than prose. That makes them not only dangerous to those who want to control information, but also vulnerable to moral panics and cherry picking. Since comics are the art of juxtaposing images, it’s not particularly difficult to manufacture a case of obscenity by removing a panel from the context that gives it meaning and showing it at a board meeting or other assembly.
The Limits of Labeling: BISAC Codes in Children’s Lit
In an oversaturated market, finding a way to identify a target audience and attract their attention is an incredibly invaluable asset to staying in the business. However, a big challenge to BISAC codes’ accuracy is the lack of diverse life experience among the small body of people who make the BISAC classifications.
A Look at English Translation
Of the hundreds of thousands of books published in the US in 2024, only forty-eight of them were works in translation. Regardless of genre, only 3 percent of books published […]
Webtoons: A Multimodal Reading Experience
Webtoons have become a global phenomenon that has transformed the landscape of digital storytelling. This form of media started in South Korea and gained global popularity, but what exactly makes […]