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Penguin Random House unveils new pop-comics imprint to publish manga and more
Penguin Random House and Del Rey UK will launch Inklore, a new global pop-comics imprint dedicated to publishing manga, manhua, manhwa, webcomics adaptations, and “light novels”.
Working in collaboration with Del Rey UK, an imprint of Cornerstone in the United Kingdom, PRH says Inklore will be “a pop-comics imprint celebrating the most popular, fan-driven tropes in visual storytelling, with a focus on digital-to-print licensed publishing in the romance, fantasy, science fiction, horror, and slice-of-life genres".
The newly created imprint will be led in the US by Keith Clayton, v.p. and deputy publisher at Random House Worlds, while editorial oversight of the imprint will be driven by Rebecca "Tay" Taylor, editorial director. In the UK, the program will be spearheaded by Ben Brusey, publishing director, with Kate McHale, senior commissioning editor.
Both teams are acquiring books for both domestic and global publication distribution. This combined US and UK team will also be working closely with colleagues in Penguin Random House North Asia, with the goal of bringing the voices of international creators and storytellers to a global audience of readers.
McHale said: “Inklore is dedicated to connecting amazing storytellers and creators from around the world to a global community of readers. These are emotive and visually stunning stories that will transport you, captivate you and that you’ll want to share. We are hugely excited to be partnering with our talented US colleagues on this global venture, and building on our success with Del Rey UK. We cannot wait to publish the titles we have signed so far – as well as those to come.”
The first project to be published by Inklore will be My Love Story With Yamada-kun at Lv999, a gamer rom-com manga series by Mashiro, originally published in Japanese by ComicSmart. The first volume is scheduled for release in early 2024. The deal was brokered by Taylor with Mangamo for world English rights.
The following projects have also been announced as part of Inklore’s initial publishing programme with further titles to be announced through the year: Under the Oak Tree, a fantasy romance novel by KIM Suji, originally published in Korean by RIDI Corporation; The Heavens, an adult fantasy space opera original graphic novel series written by Lev Grossman and Lilah Sturges, pitched as “Succession” meets “The Empire Strikes Back”; Northern Lights, a YA fantasy graphic novel series by Malin Falch, originally published in Norwegian by Egmont and Cherry Blossoms After Winter, a childhood-friends-to-lovers BL manhwa [manga featuring romantic and/or sexual relationships between men]by Bamwoo, originally published in Korean.
