Going Vertical
Posted by Mariko Fujinaka in Bookselling books publishing on January 5, 2010
Quick, name some Japanese authors. I bet you couldn’t come up with many names, could you? Plenty of English-language books get translated for the Japanese market, but not many
Japanese-language books get translated into English. Japanese book editor Hiroki Sakai decided to do something about this inequity and in 2001 founded Vertical Inc., a small publishing house that specializes in translated works of contemporary Japanese fiction and nonfiction.
Vertical publishes books in a number of genres, including graphic novels, comic books (manga), games, cookbooks, craft books, mysteries, and historical fiction. The company has a small but capable staff well versed in translation, marketing, and book design. Vertical is responsible for introducing American readers to the works of such authors as Kenzo Kitakata, a popular mystery writer who had published more than 100 novels in Japan yet was virtually unknown in the United States.
For a somewhat dated yet detailed article about Sakai and Vertical, go here.
Categories: Bookselling, books, publishing | 1 Comment »
January 6th, 2010 at 9:49 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Vertical, Inc, Thomas Riggs & Co. and topsy_top20k, topsy_top20k_en. topsy_top20k_en said: Why we love @Vertical_Ed: They publish some great contemporary Japanese books in English. http://su.pr/1towPr [...]