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13:10:12 <bay|SC|YenPress> Hi everybody
13:10:13 <bay|SC|YenPress> Welcome to the Yen press panel
13:10:34 <bay|SC|YenPress> I'm Kurt Hassler, the publishing director and to my right.. Juu Young Lee(?) senior editor
13:10:48 <bay|SC|YenPress> This is our second year at Sakuracon...so much better than San Diego con
13:11:05 <bay|SC|YenPress> So we're going to make a few announcements
13:11:15 <bay|SC|YenPress> I hope you are as excited about them as we are
13:11:18 <bay|SC|YenPress> Then we will have time for Q&A
13:11:23 <bay|SC|YenPress> andwhat did everyone really come for?
13:11:27 <bay|SC|YenPress> Swag, we have that too
13:11:29 <bay|SC|YenPress> I think we have enough
13:11:31 <bay|SC|YenPress> we usually bring books
13:11:38 <bay|SC|YenPress> but we're actually lazy
13:11:53 <bay|SC|YenPress> and didn't bring much
13:12:03 <bay|SC|YenPress> But should we dive right in?
13:12:08 <bay|SC|YenPress> Let's go for it
13:12:11 <bay|SC|YenPress> In x Boku SS
13:12:14 <bay|SC|YenPress> Cocoa Fujiawa
13:12:16 <bay|SC|YenPress> (new license)
13:12:25 <bay|SC|YenPress> Everyone know this one? Have you been watching the anime on Crunchyroll?
13:12:58 <bay|SC|YenPress> For those of you who don't know, it's about a girl..oh god you gave me this so i have to pronounce the names... (skipping the plot summary)
13:13:24 <bay|SC|YenPress> But we are extremely excited to be licensing it from Square enix, one of our favorite publisher
13:13:27 <bay|SC|YenPress> first vol in october of this year
13:13:32 <bay|SC|YenPress> we're so happy that this wasn't a spoiled announcment
13:13:43 <bay|SC|YenPress> so often you get the spoiler online because you have to sell books and give info
13:13:45 <bay|SC|YenPress> and the next one up
13:13:54 <bay|SC|YenPress> you will be equally exicted or more
13:14:04 <bay|SC|YenPress> Watashi mote
13:14:24 <bay|SC|YenPress> Watashi ga motenai no ha dou kangaetemo omera ga warui
13:15:08 <bay|SC|YenPress> No matter how i look at it, it's you guys' fault I'm not popular by Nico Tanigawa
13:15:14 <bay|SC|YenPress> Was anyone expecting that one at this show?
13:15:31 <bay|SC|YenPress> And this one comes out in october
13:15:32 <bay|SC|YenPress> Wolf Children, Ame and Yuki
13:15:38 <bay|SC|YenPress> Story by Mamoru Hosoda, Art by Yu
13:15:46 <bay|SC|YenPress> (manga version)
13:16:32 <bay|SC|YenPress> put it out in omnibus edition
13:16:47 <bay|SC|YenPress> and we don't have a final date, but early 2014
13:16:48 <bay|SC|YenPress> will be hardcover and jacketed
13:16:56 <bay|SC|YenPress> if you see the bright story ones, it's like that
13:17:01 <bay|SC|YenPress> and a fourth one..
13:17:09 <bay|SC|YenPress> Kingdom Hearts
13:17:20 <bay|SC|YenPress> Conmplete KH: Final Mix released as two volumes in May 2013
13:17:27 <bay|SC|YenPress> re-releasing King Hearts
13:17:31 <bay|SC|YenPress> starting with Final Mix
13:17:51 <bay|SC|YenPress> Monthly omnibus release of KH:Chain of Memories and KH II leading up to art books and KH 358/2 releases this fall
13:18:17 <bay|SC|YenPress> june, august for CoM and II
13:18:33 <bay|SC|YenPress> there is going to be all the stuff on the market before and the new stuff so you get caught up to japan
13:19:55 <bay|SC|YenPress> Q&A
13:20:18 <bay|SC|YenPress> Q: Any information on ?? Ray of Shadows?
13:20:32 <bay|SC|YenPress> A: Artist is andy mcdonald.. he did the adaptation of the zoo manga
13:20:40 <bay|SC|YenPress> he has done designs that brent has approved
13:20:51 <bay|SC|YenPress> believe online releases in new future
13:20:56 <bay|SC|YenPress> it's in the works, it's looking good
13:21:03 <bay|SC|YenPress> it will be serializing it somehow before the final book
13:22:42 <bay|SC|YenPress> Q: More Tokyopop series that were dropped?
13:23:05 <bay|SC|YenPress> A: We're looking at it, but a lot of the Tokyopop wasn't selling that great, there are still some that have licensing restrictions, we are looking at some of them, some we may pick digitally and maybe do print runs later
13:23:10 <bay|SC|YenPress> lots of open questions
13:23:22 <bay|SC|YenPress> we're aware of the series that fans want
13:23:55 <bay|SC|YenPress> Q: Black Butler artbook?
13:24:02 <bay|SC|YenPress> A: First artbook is soul eater soul art this year
13:24:10 <bay|SC|YenPress> we're looking more of them and it's something we're lookign at
13:24:20 <bay|SC|YenPress> we get a lot of questions about the future and I can just lie to you
13:24:48 <bay|SC|YenPress> Q: 358/2? A: Believe first will be jan 2014? maybe it's november.. probably november.. maybe... possibly... possibly
13:25:34 <bay|SC|YenPress> Q: Without naming names, are you looking to get light novels? A: We're very interested in them, we're developing more plans, I'd love to make annoncements today, we're very keen on light novels, i know a lot of people say sales are terrible, but we've done well, and i have a lot of faith in them, and now that we're getting digital rights, it makes things easier
13:25:48 <bay|SC|YenPress> the probelm with light novels is that you have to go through retailers, when it's digital, it's far easier to make stuff more accessible
13:26:04 <bay|SC|YenPress> case in point, the first of the Another Novel was released digitally this month
13:27:09 <bay|SC|YenPress> and that kind of accessibility make light novels even more appealing than they have been and they have been on our radar
13:27:10 <bay|SC|YenPress> (and are definitely on our agenda?)
13:27:09 <bay|SC|YenPress> Q: Gakuen Alice? A: We know about the property, I can talk about it.
13:27:10 <bay|SC|YenPress> We will consider almost everything.
13:27:09 <bay|SC|YenPress> Q: Umineko... how often will it be coming? A: Believe the released schedule is every 4 months because it's omibus
13:27:26 <bay|SC|YenPress> Q: Lucifer of the Buscuit Hammer? A: same answer as before
13:28:09 <bay|SC|YenPress> Oh jmanga we know the istuation with jmanga is... we're considering the properties, i don't know what the rights situation is, i can't talk about individual situations
13:28:15 <bay|SC|YenPress> Q: Magical Quartet?
13:28:42 <bay|SC|YenPress> A: Starting with .. originally did the original madoka 3 vols.. believe in june is first vol of kazumi and believe (missed month) is orico magica...
13:28:49 <bay|SC|YenPress> both will end this year or early next year
13:28:54 <bay|SC|YenPress> we're getting them out as soon as possible
13:28:58 <bay|SC|YenPress> we're thrilled with how it has done
13:29:30 <bay|SC|YenPress> Q: High School of the Dead with its continuation in japan? A: Actively discussing it with licensor
13:29:40 <bay|SC|YenPress> We love it, and want to get it back out there as soon as possible
13:29:47 <bay|SC|YenPress> Q: Internship opportunities?
13:30:02 <bay|SC|YenPress> A: The main ones are with hachette book group, our parent, i believe they are college paid ones for college credit
13:30:19 <bay|SC|YenPress> We have job openings also
13:30:25 <bay|SC|YenPress> Q: Night school new news?
13:30:47 <bay|SC|YenPress> A: New news is that we were talking about svetlana recently and she's interested in continuing, but i don't have anything concrete for you
13:31:05 <bay|SC|YenPress> we love night school, we love svet, it's just how to get back into that
13:31:34 <bay|SC|YenPress> Q: Tenna on S String?? A: Can't say no chance, but stay tuned ...
13:31:59 <bay|SC|YenPress> Q: Apps... android based? A: we're not focusing much on app development as getting the books into mainstream retailers
13:32:09 <bay|SC|YenPress> we're focused on that more right now than the individual apps
13:32:20 <bay|SC|YenPress> the apps are great but people don't want to want an app for every publisher
13:32:38 <bay|SC|YenPress> so right now our energy is getting into the bigger app stores like i book store
13:32:47 <bay|SC|YenPress> and kindle. is quick on the horizon
13:32:49 <bay|SC|YenPress> so there is more coming
13:32:59 <bay|SC|YenPress> and everything is available on nook through b&n
13:34:02 <bay|SC|YenPress> Q: Relationship with libraries? A: Love when libraries carry our books, they are some of our most important customers.. but the libraries make their own purchasing decisions...
13:34:12 <bay|SC|YenPress> the best thing you can do is talk to your librarian and tell them what you are interested in
13:34:27 <bay|SC|YenPress> Q: As you move into digital.. what is Yen Press's stance on DRM for ebooks? And speed up release schedule?
13:34:41 <bay|SC|YenPress> A: Release schedule tend to have more with translation/edit, it's not as much of a time save as you need
13:34:47 <bay|SC|YenPress> Corporately, all books have DRM applied
13:34:57 <bay|SC|YenPress> it's to protect the books and to protect the creators, because there is file sharing
13:35:08 <bay|SC|YenPress> it's pretty standard in the industry and we follow the industry standard
13:35:15 <bay|SC|YenPress> Q: Triage X release schedule?
13:35:35 <bay|SC|YenPress> A: Honestly don't know with HotSD and Triage X schedule? Our schedule is every 3 months I believe on Triage X, and we plan on keepig that up
13:35:51 <bay|SC|YenPress> we'll very quickly be caught up with the japanese release and then it's a matter of when we're allowed to make our offers
13:35:59 <bay|SC|YenPress> we normally have to wait for the book to be solicited for the market before we can offer
13:36:09 <bay|SC|YenPress> i don't know what the implications are going to be with HSotD
13:36:25 <bay|SC|YenPress> Q: missed
13:36:26 <bay|SC|YenPress> A; stay tuned
13:36:57 <bay|SC|YenPress> Q: streaming website? A: no, we're more interested in having people be able to download the ebooks like through other retailers, that's what we're perusing, arguable you could say yen press is streaming...
13:37:14 <bay|SC|YenPress> but that's a really unique sitaution and it's not representative of our ebook initiative
13:37:34 <bay|SC|YenPress> Q: What's the process to go through to get manga? A: We approach the licensor, putting in an offer, having discussions...
13:37:39 <bay|SC|YenPress> there are a lot of things that can happen
13:37:46 <bay|SC|YenPress> sometimes there are other parties, sometimes the licensor isn't interest int he market
13:37:55 <bay|SC|YenPress> it's a complicated process that matters title by titles
13:38:37 <bay|SC|YenPress> Q: Moving to digital, will some things not come out in print? A: There may be situations where there will be e-book only and we will decide about print later... Another is an example... we may decide later but we want to explore the digital representations
13:39:12 <bay|SC|YenPress> if we do well, digitally, it may help phsyical copies sine can go to stores and say "look how many we sold digitally" (paraphrase)
13:39:25 <bay|SC|YenPress> Q: How is thermae romae doing? A: Doing okay
13:39:38 <bay|SC|YenPress> we're proud of that title
13:39:42 <bay|SC|YenPress> it is a fantastic book
13:40:26 <bay|SC|YenPress> Q: Release dates of Blood Lad? A: Believe on 4 month schedule... we'll probably pretty quickly, we're doing omnibus since we wanted to do it as fast as possible, once we catch up, we'll move to individual
13:40:36 <bay|SC|YenPress> we love omnibus and the stores love them
13:41:11 <bay|SC|YenPress> Q: (think was print on demand?) A: Look into the options, but right now only have 2 digital only at this time
13:41:29 <bay|SC|YenPress> Q: avenue for readers to request titles beside writing to us? A: can come to the booth
13:41:53 <bay|SC|YenPress> Q: in regards to series that don't do well A: none of the series do as well as i like, i would like for them to sell 4 million copies each
13:42:03 <bay|SC|YenPress> Q: Kickstarted? A: Printing and croudsourcing aren't related
13:42:22 <bay|SC|YenPress> I'm not a huge fan of it because it's been used by companies to reduce the rates they pay out
13:42:42 <bay|SC|YenPress> (lost)
13:42:53 <bay|SC|YenPress> it's not much of we want to pay out of our pockets, but we're a professional publisher, that's what we do
13:43:00 <bay|SC|YenPress> but if we were going to cut corners, it wouldn't be on print
13:43:11 <bay|SC|YenPress> saving that amont of money wouldn't make something viable to printing
13:43:14 <bay|SC|YenPress> (regarding discontinuing titles)
13:43:24 <bay|SC|YenPress> there are very few titles ever discontinued
13:43:29 <bay|SC|YenPress> we very much want to complete everything we licensed
13:43:33 <bay|SC|YenPress> we licensed it because we believe in the title
13:43:45 <bay|SC|YenPress> we believe there is a commitment to the creators, licensors and fans to bring it to the end
13:44:08 <bay|SC|YenPress> croudsourcing, i would love to see the people who do that to work in the industry.. alot of translators/letters say that their work suffers because the rates are going down
13:44:46 <bay|SC|YenPress> and i don't want to hear freelancers say they have trouble making ends meet (lost)
13:44:40 <bay|SC|YenPress> Q: Do you look at streaming anime metrics? A: honestly, we don't use those
13:45:02 <bay|SC|YenPress> I started with borders and i take the same process into acquiring about titles
13:45:10 <bay|SC|YenPress> (lost)
13:45:27 <bay|SC|YenPress> (basically there are vocal fans about titles, but they aren't viable to sales)
13:45:33 <bay|SC|YenPress> perfect case in point, A Bride Story
13:45:54 <bay|SC|YenPress> it's not a huge secret that wehn it was first released, it wasn't a huge succcess
13:46:12 <bay|SC|YenPress> (talking about the prestige format option and it's now a huge success)
13:46:28 <bay|SC|YenPress> it's not about approaching trends, we don't take metrics like that into decision
13:47:30 <bay|SC|YenPress> Q: light novels sales? A: Property to property thing, some are successful, some aren't, but that's publishing... i don't think you can make a light novels don't do well i nthe US blanket statement
13:47:42 <bay|SC|YenPress> (approach is title by title)
13:47:59 <bay|SC|YenPress> Q: (missed)
13:48:09 <bay|SC|YenPress> Q: Relesae schedule of Are you Alice?
13:48:14 <bay|SC|YenPress> A: 3-4 months
13:48:19 <bay|SC|YenPress> people wonder why we do that?
13:48:30 <bay|SC|YenPress> it can very much hurt a property if it comes out too quickly
13:48:43 <bay|SC|YenPress> if you only give it a month or two, it hasn't had time to generate sales in retailers
13:49:02 <bay|SC|YenPress> we need to give retailers times to make the right buying decisions
13:49:07 <bay|SC|YenPress> and that means giving breathing room between volumes
13:49:50 <bay|SC|YenPress> this is why i like omnibus ...because if we have a lot of materials... if we put 2 volumes out in the same month, the 2nd vol sales would drop, but in one book, they are together
13:50:04 <bay|SC|YenPress> we have to give it time to perform well on shelves or it will make the seires as whole suffer and it's less likely we'll see it through to the end
13:50:14 <bay|SC|YenPress> Okay, so who wants swag
13:50:40 <bay|SC|YenPress> (Ending)