Hype alert! PW has a series of breakfast discussions under the banner “Think Future” that look at publishing trends and developments with movers and shakers. The next one covers graphic novels and it features John Cunningham (DC), Dan Frank Pantheon), Rich Johnson (Yen Press), Joe Quesada (Marvel) and Bill Schanes (Diamond). I’ll be co-moderating with Calvin Reid and it should be worth getting up for. Ticket information in the jump.
COMICS & GRAPHICS NOVELS
HARNESSING THE POWER OF VISUAL LITERATURE
As the web, mobile content, social networking and video games become the language of youth culture, many feel that graphic novels will become an even more important tool for literacy and education. Our panel will explore the growing impact of comics and graphic novels on the book market and will discuss the latest domestic and international trends in comics publishing.
* What is manga mania and how has it changed the U.S. book market?
* Will sales continue to grow and where?
* How can publishers maximize sales through bookstores and through the comics shop market?
* How will the growing interest in comics as an educational tool affect schools and libraries?
Surveying the new publishing landscape, this panel will explore how comics publishing is moving beyond its traditional roots and finding new readers. Whether you are a publisher, librarian, educator, or affiliated with the traditional bookstore market or the comics shop market, this discussion will provide insight in this fast-growing and swiftly changing market.
MODERATORS:
Calvin Reid, Senior News Editor, PW, and Co-Editor, PW Comics Week
Heidi MacDonald, Writer, The Beat, and Co-Editor, PW Comics Week
PANELISTS:
John Cunningham, V-P of Marketing, DC Comics
Dan Frank, Editorial Director, Pantheon Books
Rich Johnson, Co-Publishing Director, Yen Press
Joe Quesada, Editor in Chief, Marvel Comics
Bill Schanes, V-P of Purchasing, Diamond Comic Distributors
WHERE: Random House
Louis L’Amour Room
1745 Broadway
New York, NY 10019
WHEN: November 14, 2007
Breakfast: 8:30-9:00 am
Panel: 9:00-10:30 am
RSVP, COST AND PAYMENT
$45.00 per person. Your payment is your RSVP.
To sign up and pay by credit card, visit www.publishersweekly.com/panel
To sign up and pay by check, contact Marisol Avalos:
Marisol.avalos@reedbusiness.com or 646-746-6436
“* What is manga mania and how has it changed the U.S. book market?”
This was just being talked about at Comic Mix. I’ve never been able to get into manga, and I don’t know if it’s truly going to last, here in America. I wonder both ways about it. Is it a sterile art form, never to evolve past it’s endless, payed by the page story lines, or will it thrive forever in the spirit of the romance novel? Even though romance novels all have the same formula, they still hold the potential for endless possibilities, if in the hands of a skilled enough writer. They’re versatile like that. The thing is, how many truly talented (versatile) manga writers are out there, vs. manga writers who are just recycling the same stuff over and over again?
Cool! Heidi’s blog can receive comments from 1989.
CHRIS. Seriously man, you need to go stand in the corner.
Manga means comics. Manga means comic books. Just like you don’t have to read Nora Roberts if you read books, you don’t have to read teenaged manga if you read manga. Umezu, Tezuka, Yokoyama, Taiyo Matsumoto, Rumiko Takahashi, Erica Sakurazawa, Maiyocco Anno, Akira Toriyama, Kiyohiho Azuma….APOLLO’S SONG, YOTSUBA&!, DR. SLUMP, OCTUPUS GIRL, PUSHMAN….you need to educate yourself.