Tag: American Manga Awards

American Manga Awards honor ‘Billy Bat,’ ‘The Summer Hikaru Died’ + more

The awards were presented last night in conjunction with AnimeNYC.

The third annual American Manga Awards were presented Thursday night at the Japan Society in New York City, in conjunction with AnimeNYC. Zack Davisson served as host for an evening celebrating the creators, publishers and localization teams behind manga released in North America.

In addition to the winners in the awards’ main categories, the ceremony presented the American Manga Award of Distinction to Princess Jellyfish creator Akiko Higashimura. The awards also inducted two new members into the Manga Publishing Hall of Fame: Chigusa Ogino, an advisor and former executive director on the board of Tuttle-Mori Agency who helped pave the way for manga’s entrance into Western markets, and the late Ioannis Mentzas, co-founder of Vertical and former editorial director at Kodansha USA.

Congratulations to last night’s winners:

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Quick Hits | Publishers push back against Florida book bans

Plus: IDW lays off Mark Doyle + three others, Webtoon targets pirate sites, Declan Shalvey, Jay Hosler, a lost Alan Moore comic and more.

Several book publishers have joined with parents and authors to sue the state of Florida over House Bill 1069, the ironically titled bill that, among other things, restricts books in school libraries that depict or describe “sexual content.” Hundreds of titles have been banned across the state since the bill became law in July 2023, according to a press release issued by the publishers.

Penguin joins with Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan Publishers and Simon & Schuster as plaintiffs in the suit, along with two parents, two students and a list of authors that includes Julia Alvarez, Laurie Halse Anderson, John Green, Jodi Picoult and Angie Thomas.

“Florida HB 1069’s complex and overbroad provisions have created chaos and turmoil across the state, resulting in thousands of historic and modern classics—works we are proud to publish—being unlawfully labeled obscene and removed from shelves,” said Dan Novack, VP and associate general counsel for PRH. “Students need access to books that reflect a wide range of human experiences to learn and grow. It’s imperative for the education of our young people that teachers and librarians be allowed to use their professional expertise to match our authors’ books to the right reader at the right time in their life.” 

Today’s LOL moment comes in the form of a statement from Nathalia Medina, a spokeswoman for the state’s Department of Education. “There are no books banned in Florida,” she told the Washington Post. “Sexually explicit material and instruction are not suitable for schools.” The Miami New Times has a list of the books that have been banned in Florida since 2021 through June of this year. The extensive list by school district includes several graphic novels, including Flamer, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, Drama and Gender Queer: A Memoir.

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