A dream that was a long time coming.
If you’ve stumbled upon this blog post—hi there! I’m Sevita, the creator of LumicPress! Right now, this little publishing house of mine is in the very beginning stages of its creation.
To give some background about what this publishing house stands for; LumicPress is seeking to publish books and comics that are inspired by anime and manga. We publish illustrated novels that are more friendly to read for reluctant readers, and also to push the boundaries of what a hybrid novel/comic can do for the reading experience.
To give some background on myself, I’m an artist with long dedication to the craft of comic creation. I have a few comics and projects under my belt, but for eight years I’ve primarily worked on my own manga/comic series, called Four Corners, that is published via the web. In terms of my actual career as an artist, it has been eight years of a long winding path that seemed to be uncertain. As a US based artist who has a near lifelong passion for the craft of Japanese anime and manga, for a very long time it was regarded that the only avenues for our styles and storytelling was via webcomics, which, as the years go on, has become very unsustainable for making income with our work. Traditional publishing, although open to accepting comics, I’ve realized is missing something very crucial when it comes to capturing the attention of young readers. It was a detail I kept running into over and over again, after working a very long time in the library system and realizing what is circulating and what isn’t in our community.
Some of you may already be aware, manga and anime is taking over sales and the hearts of the youth—just as it once did when I was young many years ago! Sadly, there aren’t a lot of books hitting the shelves in the West that could compare to manga in the same sense of spirit. There definitely are a few I can list off the top of my head, which are: Anything by Svetlana Chmakova, Saturday AM‘s titles, Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper, Ngozi Ukazu’s Check Please!, Rachel Smyth’s Lore Olympus, and Míriam Bonastre Tur’s Hooky. Aside from Svetlana Chmakova’s comics, the rest of those titles all began as webcomics. For the past decade, young readers between the ages of 13-17, have flocked to websites like Webtoons and Tapas for more entertaining reading choices. The issue this presents, however, is the reality that many webcomics are not suited for a young audience, and most parents struggle to regulate the reading habits of their children when it’s gone digital.
While working in a library, I run into a lot of parents who ask whether or not a manga was appropriate for their 12, 13, or 14 year old children. It’s a tricky subject since it all depends on what that parent is comfortable with their child reading. This was a situation that made me increasingly uncomfortable as an artist as time went on. I kept asking myself, when are comic artists going to create something passionately for children? When will publishers release manga influenced books with the same level of entertainment, sentimental value, and character-driven adventures, but for the right demographic? When will they appeal to the interests of children, so we can get kids to read more enthusiastically again?
And so, for a few months, I started writing my own children’s book and decided to take the plunge into making my own publishing company. And that’s where we are right now!
So, for those who are interested: slowly, things will be coming together in the next few months, and I hope to reveal some sneak peaks of the book I’m working on. Hopefully, as things come along in 2023, submissions will be open and I can look into acquiring one or two titles from other authors/artists.
LumicPress is something I’m truly passionate about, and it’s a dream that I’ve had for years. It wasn’t until recently that I realized nobody was going to do this, so I better use all the knowledge I have and make it happen!
Until next time,
Sevita Lochan (Head Publisher)
