Calvin Reid of Publisher's Weekly is reporting that mainstream publishing powerhouse Penguin Books has signed a three-year agreement with Digital Manga to publish manga titles under a variety of Penguin imprints. Digital Manga will acquire the properties and provide preparatory translations for 8-10 volumes of manga for the first year of the agreement (2005). The agreement calls for 10-15 volumes in subsequent years. Many of the new manga titles appear to be headed for Razorbill, Penguin's cutting edge teen imprint.
As was the case with another recently announced manga publisher, Bandai Entertainment (see 'Bandai to Publish Manga'), Penguin appears to be looking to field a smallish line of high quality manga titles -- a sensible approach to an increasingly crowded marketplace.
