YEN PRESS ANNOUNCES

TWILIGHT: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL, VOL. 1

WILL GO ON-SALE ON MARCH 16, 2010

NEW YORK, NY (January 20, 2010) — Yen Press, the graphic novel imprint of Hachette Book Group, announced that it will publish the highly-anticipated first volume in the graphic novel adaptation of  Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight on March 16, 2010.  Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1 will be released in hardcover for $19.99 ($22.99 CAN) with a first printing of 350,000 copies.  As is typical in graphic novel publishing, due to the length of the prose novel, the book will be divided into two volumes and the release date for the second volume is forthcoming.

Twilight: The Graphic Novel contains selected text from Meyer’s original novel with illustrations by Korean artist Young Kim.  A rare fusion of Asian and Western comic techniques is reflected in this black-and-white graphic novel with color interspersed throughout.  Meyer consulted throughout the artistic process and had input on every panel.

"I’ve enjoyed working on this new interpretation of Twilight," said Meyer.  "Young has done an incredible job transforming the words that I have written into beautiful images.  The characters and settings are very close to what I was imagining while writing the series."

Kurt Hassler, Yen Press Publishing Director, said, "Few American publishing properties are better suited to introduce a vast readership to the medium of graphic novel than the phenomenon that is Stephenie Meyer's Twilight.  Yen Press will certainly continue to expand this audience with the help of Bella and Edward."

In four years, Stephenie Meyer has become a worldwide publishing phenomenon.  The Twilight Saga’s translation rights have been sold in nearly 50 countries and 85 million copies have been sold worldwide. 

Yen Press is an imprint of Hachette Book Group dedicated to publishing graphic novels for adults and young readers.  Yen Press’ focus is primarily on licensed manga, but also publishes across the wide spectrum of the graphic novel market, including, but not limited to: original manga publications, original American comics/graphic novels, webcomics, licensed adaptations, and children's graphic novels.  

Hachette Book Group is a leading trade publisher based in New York and a division of Hachette Livre, the second largest publisher in the world. Hachette Book Group’s product lines include adult, illustrated, religious, children’s and audio books under the Little, Brown and Company, Little Brown Books for Young Readers, Grand Central Publishing, FaithWords, Center Street, Orbit, Yen Press and Hachette Book Group Digital Media imprints.  For more information, visit www.hbgusa.com.

Lori Henderson