Vertical-ites and J-Horror fans rejoice! J-Horror author David Kalat is making a rare New York City appearance at the first annual New York Anime Festival, December 7-9, 2007, at the Jacob Javits Center. Kalat’s book is an exhaustive, must-have study of Japanese horror films, delving deeply into the details of the film genre that has taken the world by storm. Did you know that there are 10 Ring movies from 3 different countries? Ever wonder why all those girls have hair in front of their faces in Japanese horror films? Kalat’s book supplies these answers and more. Kalat will be presenting a J-Horror panel at the Anime Festival on Saturday evening from 5-6 pm and he will also have two book signings at the show: Saturday evening (following his panel) from 6:30-closing and Sunday afternoon (following the Vertical, Inc. panel) from 12:30-2:30 pm. Be afraid… be very afraid… that you might miss this scary-good opportunity, and plan accordingly.
The Horror… The Horror…
Tuesday, November 13th, 2007Manga Pioneer Takemiya to make rare NA appearance
Thursday, September 13th, 2007
The Shojo legend and author of manga classics To Terra… and Andromeda Stories will be making the following West Coast stops to celebrate the 25th Anniversary and U.S. debut of Andromeda Stories #1.
September 15, 2007
Barnes & Noble Bookstore, 1201 3rd St. (3rd St. Promenade), Santa Monica, California from 3:00-4:00 PM
September 17, 2007
Powell’s Bookstore, 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd., Portland, Oregon from 7:00-9:00 PM
September 19, 2007
University of British Columbia (UBC) bookstore, 800 Robson St, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, from 12:00-1:30 PM
September 20, 2007
Takemiya will give a lecture, “Shojo Manga Power! Girl Comics from Japan,” followed by a panel discussion featuring manga critic and editor Fujimoto Yukari and Professor Masami Toku at The Auditorium of the Asian Centre at UBC
September 21, 2007
Takemiya will give a lecture, “The Role of Manga in Contemporary Culture,” in the Main Theater at UBC’s Robson Square campus in downtown Vancouver, 800 Robson Street (near the Vancouver Art Gallery), followed by a panel discussion.
Don’t miss your chance to meet a true manga legend!
O’Ekaki and Higher Sudoku Samples Now Available!
Monday, June 18th, 2007
Bored with predictable, computer-generated Sudoku puzzles? Vertical now offers downloadable samples of its Higher Sudoku and O’Ekaki: Paint by Sudoku puzzles, along with easy-to-understand instructions and tips for you to take your Sudoku puzzle skills to the next level. Vertical’s Sudoku puzzles are cleverly conceived by the Japanese puzzlemaster and O’Ekaki inventor, Tetsuya Nishio, “the Japanese Will Shortz,” and are designed to bedevil and delight even the veteran Sudoku enthusiast. O’Ekaki puzzles result in surprising pictures, but don’t be fooled; they are just as challenging and fun. The first five people to send us a correctly-solved example of our O’Ekaki puzzle will receive a free copy of O’Ekaki: Paint by Sudoku and an exclusive, Vertical mechanical pencil. Send your completed O’Ekaki puzzle (from our puzzle page) to: Vertical’s O’Ekaki Puzzle Challenge, 1185 Avenue of the Americas 32FL, New York, NY 10036. After you’ve tried our puzzles, send us your comments; you may see them posted on our Vertical puzzles page!
Just look for the “Samples, tips, and instructions” button on our Sudoku webpage to download your own pdfs: www.vertical-inc.com/books/puzzle
Vertical at NYCC: The Future of Manga
Friday, February 9th, 2007With six new manga properties slated for release throughout 2007, and potentially more in the coming years, Vertical is poised to be a serious player in the manga translating game. What does this mean for a company whose reputation has been built on releasing manga “classics”? As the manga market matures, will Vertical clear a place in the future of manga with more deluxe editions or redefine the mass market format?
Vertical at The NY Comic-Con, Sunday February 25, 3-4pm.
Talking with Takemiya
Tuesday, January 23rd, 2007
Attention all lovers of great manga! Shojo pioneer and To Terra… and Andromeda Stories creator Keiko Takemiya recently spoke with Deb Aoki of About.com concerning her life’s work. As one of the legendary seminal Magnificent 49ers—a women’s manga collective in the 1970s—the trailblazing Takemiya founded what is known today as yaoi. Her revolutionary ideas and themes influenced many of today’s foremost science fiction films, including The Matrix and The Terminator. Vertical published the 3-volume To Terra… in 2007 and a successful animated version of the trilogy ran in Japan in 2007 to great acclaim. Vertical began publishing Takemiya’s noteworthy Andromeda Stories toward the end of 2007, and the final volume of the 3-volume space-spanning soap opera is due in March. In the meantime, check out her enlightening interview.
IMPORTANT CHANGE IN TAGUCHI TOUR!!!
Wednesday, March 23rd, 2005
Randy Taguchi’s scheduled appearance at Barnes and Noble at Union Square on March 26 (Saturday), HAS CHANGED LOCATION. The new location is Kinokuniya at Rockefeller Center, which is on 49th St. between Fifth and Sixth Ave. The time of the event is still 3pm. If you have
further questions, please contact Anne Ishii.
Saying Yes to Japan authors in the NY Times!
Wednesday, March 9th, 2005 
Saying Yes to Japan authors Tim Clark and Carl Kay were recently asked to write an op-ed piece on the tapping of Wales-born American Sir Howard Stringer for the CEO seat of SONY. Don’t miss your opportunity to read the article for free online at The New York Times Op-Ed Section.
Don’t miss Randy Taguchi on the Atlantic Seaboard!
Monday, March 7th, 2005Outlet author Randy Taguchi, queen of the e-zine, will be in the NY-area from March 22nd to 28th, just in time for the aftermath of the St. Patrick’s Day parade and the onslaught of Easter bunnies and Purim Chocolates.
For anyone in the Boston area, don’t miss her at the Olin Center at Tufts University on March 28th from noon-2pm.
For anyone else in the general tri-state vicinity, please contact our publicity director, Anne Ishii, at 212-529-2350, for opportunities to sit in on the various reading groups that will be convening on March 24, 25, and 26th.
*events are generously funded by the Japan Foundation New York
Get ready to meet her by buying her novel and checking out our reading guide!
Sasaki Tour Update!
Monday, March 7th, 2005
Joh Sasaki in Seattle and San Francisco, the mystery fiction capitals of the US!
Joh Sasaki, military-thriller afficionado and author of Zero Over Berlin will be appearing at the Seattle Kinokuniya on March 12th from 2pm to 3pm, and at the Mechanics Institute Library on March 15th from 5:30pm, hosted by the Northern California Japan Society.
Outlet author Randy Taguchi to visit NYC in March
Friday, February 11th, 2005 
Randy Taguchi has been referred to alternately as “Queen of the e-zine,” “the literary Bjork of Japan” (The Japan Times) and “a hard-drinking country woman” (BBC’s The World News Service). This Spring (March 22-28), Taguchi comes to the New York City area to talk about her first English debut, Outlet, as well as social issues and trends that hit close to home, such as hikikomori, or shut-in syndrome, which took her real-life brother’s life and became the subject of many of her writings. Contact us for details on upcoming appearances.