UK publisher SelfMadeHero — which has put out GNs by a European cast of all-stars such as David B as well as such things as Manga Shakespeare and Eye Classics— will be acquired by Abrams, with a US line coming in 2012.
ABRAMS announces today that it has signed a letter of intent to purchase the London-based graphic novel publisher SelfMadeHero. The purchase, which will be finalized in the next several weeks, will keep SelfMadeHero’s operation under managing director, Emma Hayley with distribution in the UK and export markets through Abrams&Chronicle Books. At the same time, SelfMadeHero will launch a North American list beginning in spring 2012 with ABRAMS, based in New York. These books will be published under the imprint SelfMadeHero in North America and in the UK.
Michael Jacobs, president and CEO of ABRAMS, says:
“Having long admired SelfMadeHero’s publishing program and Emma Hayley’s eye and taste for original and exciting graphic novels and material for both adults and children, I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work with her and her team to bring the books to even larger audiences. We at ABRAMS have been looking to expand our reach in the still growing markets for comics and graphics and think that with SelfMadeHero we have found a perfect complement to our existing Abrams ComicArts publishing program.”
Emma Hayley, managing director of SelfMadeHero, says:
“We are delighted to be entering into this agreement with ABRAMS, with whom we have worked successfully in the past. We envisage an exciting new phase in the development of SelfMadeHero and, with ABRAMS’s support and the help of its international sales team, look forward to developing SelfMadeHero into a global name. It has always been our ambition to be recognised as one of the leading publishers of graphic novels internationally and working with ABRAMS is a major step in fulfilling this aim.”
David Gooding, managing director of Abrams&Chronicle Books UK, says:
“We are happy to be partnering with one of the UK’s leading graphic novel publishers. The SelfMadeHero programme features an extraordinary range of high profile and internationally renowned authors and we are excited to be working with this dynamic publishing house across all our markets.”
Hayley will continue as managing director of SelfMadeHero, supported by marketing director, Doug Wallace.
The spring 2012 launch of the SelfMadeHero North American graphic novel list will include the following titles: Chico & Rita by Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal, Kiki de Montparnasse by Catel & Bocquet, The Lovecraft Anthology: Volume I edited by Dan Lockwood, But I Really Wanted to Be an Anthropologist by Margaux Motin, and Best of Enemies: A History of U.S. and Middle East Relations by David B. and Jean-Pierre Filiu.
SelfMadeHero’s UK sales and distribution will be handled by Abrams&Chronicle Books beginning in April 2012. SelfMadeHero’s North American sales and distribution will be handled by ABRAMS.
