News
3 of Digital Manga Guild's Publishers Named (Updated)
posted on by Gia Manry
Digital Manga Publishing (DMP) has revealed three of the Japanese publishers in its new Digital Manga Guild program, in which fans translate, edit, and letter works legally for sale digitally (and for print if they prove popular). The three publishers are Shinshokan, Taiyoh Tosho and Oakla Publishing.
DMP president and CEO Hikaru Sasahara had revealed at Yaoi-Con in October that six Japanese publishers signed onto the program with up to 5,000 possible titles. Sasahara now adds that he hopes to have Digital Manga Guild applicants vetted and projects assigned starting next spring, with project's first titles released next summer. Fan localizers will be credited and paid royalties, but Sasahara hopes that the lack of up-front fees for the license and localization work will "change the manga industry."
Digital Manga Guild's three named publishers are also involved in the joint portal site that 37 Japanese publishers are planning to set up for North American fans this year.
Source: Publishers Weekly via Deb Aoki
Update: Digital Manga issued the following statement:
The publishers that were mentioned in the article pertaining to the Digital Manga Guild, published by Publishers Weekly on 12/7/10, are incorrect. When it comes time, Digital Manga will make an official statement on the partners involved in the project based on their wishes. Unfortunately, we are unable to make any further statements at this time, other than to confirm that the information released by Publishers Weekly is in error.
this article has been modified since it was originally posted; see change history