Hello! I'd just like to ask whether or not Vertical can or w

[Vertical Inc]

Hello! I'd just like to ask whether or not Vertical can or will consider translating "Shiki" and/or "Twelve Kingdoms" by Fuyumi Ono. I know that the first few "Twelve Kingdoms" novels were translated by Tokyo Pop, but no one has translated the "Shiki" novels or manga yet and I think Tokyo Pop has since lost their licensing rights for "Twelve Kingdoms". Thank you, Laura

Hmm honestly we generally do not discuss titles that we do not have licensed, but I can say I haven’t heard any discussions about SHIKI in our office.

Twelve Kingdoms is another story. And a complicated one.

You are right Tokyopop did publish part of that. So this would be license rescue which some of us here are not entirely in to. However what makes this even more complicated is that the author has done something a little unusual in Japan… Mid series she switched publishers.

Working with different publishers is never uncommon for prose authors. But doing so mid-run and continuing the series with a new pub (instead of starting new or re-branding the series) is a little different. While not impossible to overcome, these issues often create rifts between publishers and problems for potential licenees as access to materials or editions might be hard to come by. Also her old publisher for this title is our parent company… So that’s another tricky situation.

It’d be very cool to see Twelve Kingdoms in English again. And while we work quite often with her current publisher, Shinchosha, I wonder if the novels department here is prioritizing rescues or complicated contracts right now.