This month's edition of the newsletter totally feels like a "What I Did on My Summer Vacation" essay. Except that Del Rey Manga has emphatically not been on vacation!

That's because manga is a three hundred fifty-two days a year, seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day, round-the-clock, neverending, eternal, universe-spanning, life-consuming obsession. Read on to find out more about Del Rey Manga's crazy summer:

SAN DIEGO COMIC CON!

Yeah, life is really tough for me: I had no choice but to go to San Diego Comic Con. I was strictly doing my duty as a devoted manga editor, I promise! Del Rey Manga was present at the con in full force, at which, I swear, we did not have the best time ever!

After all, who could possibly want to get a ton of cool free stuff, hear the latest news at the panels, go to parties, meet your favorite artists, talk to lots of other comics fans, and see ridiculous spectacles like a life-sized Lego Darth Vader or an Elvis Stormtrooper?

Some of you aren't under such onerous obligations, and had the good fortune to not be present for that week of total madness, so you can just read about at our SDCC blog made possible by our friends at Active Anime site.

And, like good friends, we brought back some souvenirs: a bag of great San Diego Comic Con scwhag, which goes to the winners of our blog-featured SDCC Contest:

Mark Moorehead (Kirkland, WA)
Joy Kim (Ann Arbor, MI)
Kevin Melrose (Elizabeth, WV)
Noah Thomas (Portland, OR)
Denise Jones (St. Louis, MO)
Darren Farthing (Holland, NY)
Breann Barron (Los Banos, CA)
Amber Yearout (Mesquite, TX)
Ashley Weissman (Sunrise, FL)
Selvi Saroinsong (Surabaya, Indonesia)

NEW WEBSITE!

Our website has gotten a ferociously cool new haircut, a mani-pedi, and a wardrobe refresher—in other words, it's a total makeover! Stop by to check out previews of our new books, our latest announcements, animated trailers, printable calendars, and more!

SHIKI TSUKAI TRAILER

The best part of going to summer movies is seeing the trailers, right? Click here to see our very own animated, movie-style trailer for our new series, Shiki Tsukai. Serious cookie points to anyone who can guess the identity of the voiceover actress doing the narration!

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DEL REY MANGA, NEW YORK ANIME FESTIVAL, AND THEOTAKU.COM TEAM FOR ART CONTEST!

Are you an aspiring manga-ka, just waiting to share your vision with the world? Here's your chance! New York Anime Festival, theOtaku.com, and Del Rey Manga invite you submit your original art expressing the theme of winter. Finalists will see their work on display at the New York Anime Festival where attendees will vote on their favorites. The ultimate winner will receive a year's worth of Del Rey Manga. Worth playing for? Of course it is! Details, official rules, and submission form here!

LOVE YOUR LIBRARY!

Libraries love manga—did you know that? Every year, the Young Adult Library Services Association puts together a list of "Great Graphic Novels" and we're thrilled to see nominations for our Avril Lavigne's Make 5 Wishes, Princess Resurrection, and Mushishi. Plus, on the non-manga side of things, our sibling publisher Villard was nominated for its Elk's Run and Flight 4.

If you're lucky enough to have a few good librarians in your life, be sure to thank them for us, OK? We appreciate their support, and they appreciate yours!

SPEAKING OF FLIGHT...

Also, we're delighted to report that Flight, Volume 3 won the prestigious Harvey Award in the category of "Best Anthology." Congratulations to all the Flight crew; it's an accolade well-deserved indeed. If you haven't taken a look at Flight yet, you owe it to yourself to do so. So get down to your favorite bookstore, comics shop, or library right away!

COSPLAY CONTEST!

I love cosplayers! It really does make me feel like I'm meeting my favorite fictional characters in person. So it was just too much fun when Del Rey Manga had its very first cosplay contest at our booth at San Diego Comic Con. We had so many great contestants, but there could only be one winner (chosen at random from all entrants.) It was Christina Major, posing here with her partner in crime-and-punishment Mark, as a duo from Phoenix Wright, the hit Capcom video game with a manga coming your way from Del Rey Manga in 2008. Her prize: a year's supply of Del Rey Manga! Congratulations, Christina!

BACK TO SCHOOL. SCHOOL RUMBLE, THAT IS...

As summer winds down, that means it's back to school time for many of us. And although you may not be ready to trade beach-going and sandals for school schedules and standardized testing, we've got something that might make school a bit easier to take: the School Rumble Draw Your Own Manga Contest!

Our friends at FUNimation, the home video geniuses releasing the School Rumble anime, are running a great contest. If you've ever wanted to be a manga-ka like School Rumble's Harima, now's your chance to show you've got what it takes! Submit your artwork and you can win a great prizes including a new computer, manga drawing software, art supplies, and, oh yes, copies of manga for your library. Head on over here for details!

MEET MANAGING ED!

No, I'm not talking about a person named "Ed." That's manga publishing-speak for "Managing Editor."

Managing Editors are those unsung heroes who keep all of us on track to make sure our books get into your hands. Del Rey Manga is pleased to welcome Lisa Turner, recently promoted from our production department, to the position of Associate Managing Editor. Lisa will have full managing editorial responsibility for all Del Rey Manga titles (and will also be looking after most of the paperbacks coming from our sibling imprint Ballantine, too!) So when you sit down to read one of our manga, just remember that she's the one who should get all the credit. (And when things go awry, that's our fault, not hers!) With all the great stuff we've got in the works, we're going to do our best to keep Lisa busy, and, believe me, we're gonna try hard to stay on her good side.

PSYCHO BUSTERS CONTEST!

A couple of years ago, creator Yuya Aoki rocked American manga readers with his wickedly addictive series Get Backers. Now Aoki is back with a new series that's a manga remix of the X-Men: psychic teens are on the run from a shadowy government agency with sinister plans for their supernatural powers! This IMAX-sized action thriller is the perfect fix for Get Backers readers—and will get new legions of Aoki fans completely hooked!

Be the first to learn Psycho Busters' secrets with your own free copy of the first volume! E-mail us, and if you're selected, we'll send you an advance copy of the book to read. We only ask one thing: Write back to us and give us your opinion!

Send your emails to delreymanga@randomhouse.com with PSYCHO BUSTERS in the subject line, including your full name and address in the body of the e-mail (NOTE: your personal information will not be used for any purpose other than this contest). Ten (10) lucky winners will be selected at random and will receive a copy of the book when it is published. All submissions must be received by Wednesday, October 3, 2007.

MY HEAVENLY HOCKEY CLUB CONTEST WINNERS

They say it's not about winning, but about how you play the game. Yeah, right! These ten champs are going to be really happy when they get their prize: a free copy of My Heavenly Hockey Club 1. At least try to be good sports about it, guys!

Emily Johnson (Bass Harbor, ME)
Kristin Fletcher-Spear (Glendale, AZ)
Gabi Estes (Frisco, TX)
Douajon Lyfoung (Anaheim, CA)
Seamus C. Pitchford (Bucksport, ME)
Cameron James Moriarty (Tempe, AZ)
Teresa L. Parkins, (Ashford, WV)
Jason Budden, (Hudson, FL)
Joan Otto (York, PA)
Jessica Fink (Round Rock, TX)

Phoenix Wright cosplayers, psychic teens, field hockey fanatics, Lego Darth Vader: Wait a second, that really was better than summer vacation! After all, who could possibly ever want to take a vacation away from manga?

Tricia Narwani
delreymanga@randomhouse.com

NEW IN STORES

Image from Amazon
Dragon Eye 2
by Kairi Fujiyama

Leila is training to be a great warrior. Her teacher, Issa, is a courageous champion with a rebellious streak. But Leila wants more from Issa than his expertise.

Image from Amazon
Ghost Hunt 9
by Shiho Inada, Fuyumi Ono

The ghost hunters' new case has turned deadly. Naru, the leader of Shibuya Psychic Research, is under a dark spell. When Naru awakens, he foolishly decides to take on an evil spirit alone.

Image from Amazon
Kagetora 7
by Akira Segami

Though sworn to protect and train Yuki, heir to the Toudou martial arts family, Kagetora has fallen in love with her—and the forbidden feelings are mutual. But when Nao Takatou, a talented archer and spunky tomboy, enters the picture, Kagetora finds himself thinking about another girl—much to Yuki's dismay.

Image from Amazon
Le Chevalier d'Eon 2
by Kiriko Yumeji, Tou Ubukata

The prophecy is coming true! It was predicted that France would fall in a terrible revolution…and now the streets of Paris are running red with blood. The kingdom has only one hope: the Chevalier Sphinx, secret agent and master swordsman!

Image from Amazon
Pastel 8
by Toshihiko Kobayashi

Mugi can?t find the courage to confess his love to Yuu. So he does the next best thing: he tells her sister, who then hatches a plan to bring them together. Her idea? Lock the two in the bathroom in their birthday suits.

Image from Amazon
School Rumble, Volume 7
by Jin Kobayashi

Brokenhearted Harima decides to run away and become a fisherman, sailing Japan's high seas. Once aboard, however, Harima finds himself up against mean-spirited shipmates and a brutal captain who is almost too muscle-bound to be real. Can Harima measure up?

Image from Amazon
The Wallflower 10: Yamatonadeshiko Shichihenge
by Tomoko Hayakawa

Sunako just wants to remain in seclusion inside her dark room, but glam Auntie has other plans and drags her niece to a party. Upon arrival, Sunako takes refuge in an empty coffin, where she finds a diamond. Imagine morbid Sunako's delight when she learns the jewel is cursed!

Image from Amazon
xxxHOLiC, Volume 10
by Clamp

Yûko Ichihara warned Kimihiro about his attraction to cute young Himawari-chan. But he refused to listen. How could his pretty classmate possibly pose any kind of danger to him? At last the secret is revealed…with near-fatal results!