Del Rey Manga Acquires Its First American Manga In Collaboration With Pop Superstar Avril Lavigne
Del Rey Manga, an imprint of Random House Inc. and one of the premiere publishers of manga in the U.S., announced today the acquisition of MAKE 5 WISHES, created in collaboration with platinum-selling and Grammy Award-nominated recording artist Avril Lavigne.
Del Rey Manga will publish the first volume of MAKE 5 WISHES on April 10, 2007. Avril Lavigne’s new album The Best Damn Thing will release shortly after on April 17, 2007 from RCA Records. In volume one of MAKE 5 WISHES, introverted teenager Hana stumbles upon a website that will change her life forever. After a demon grants her a series of wishes that go bad, Hana meets her hero Avril Lavigne, who helps her find the courage to conquer her own personal demons once and for all. The concluding volume of MAKE 5 WISHES will release in July 2007. Both volumes will appear in full-color.
More than simply lending her talents to the creative process, multiple award-winning singer, songwriter, model, and actress Avril Lavigne also appears as a character in the manga. When asked what inspired her to be a part of this project, Avril Lavigne had this to say, “I know that many of my fans read manga, and I’m really excited to be involved in creating stories that I know they will enjoy.”
Acquiring editor Betsy Mitchell, Editor-in-Chief of Del Rey Books, said this about the enthusiasm surrounding MAKE 5 WISHES, “In the past few years, manga [the Japanese art form] has grown exponentially in the United States. For our very first original English-language manga, we’re very excited to be working with a person as versatile in her talent as Avril Lavigne.”
Del Rey Manga purchased world rights for the books in a deal brokered by Terry McBride, CEO of Nettwerk Management.