Yen Press has acquired the rights to Takahiro Arai’s shonen manga adaptation of Darren Shan’s young adult vampire novel, Cirque du Freak, the first book in Shan’s 12-volume Vampire Blood series.  Shogakukan has published eight volumes of Arai’s manga, which is still ongoing in Japan.  A movie adaptation based on the first three novels in the series is currently in production.  Paul Weitz (American Pie, About a Boy, In Good Company) is directing the movie, which is due out in 2009 and should really boost awareness of this property.

Other titles announced by Yen Press include Cat Paradise (Gakuen Sousei Nekoten!), an ongoing four-volume school life/supernatural shonen manga by Yuji Iwahara, Satoko Kiyuduki’s school life/comedy GA Geijutsuka Art Design Class, Mikage’s  two-volume ongoing Ichiroh! manga , and the Kieli series of novels by Yukako Kabei.