[ecrea] Call for Book Chapters: “Global Manga: The Cultural Production of Japanese Comics outside Japan”

CALL FOR BOOK CHAPTERS

“Global Manga: The Cultural Production of Japanese Comics outside Japan”
Editor: Casey Brienza

According to Wikipedia, “‘manga’ as a term used outside Japan refers
specifically to comics originally published in Japan.” Yet careful
inspection of the Manga section of any chain bookstore in the
English-speaking world quickly reveals that the books on the shelf are
not exclusively comics originally published in Japan. Svetlana
Chmakova’s Nightschool sits alongside Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto, the
Soulless adaptation alongside Soul Eater. And beyond the Manga section
proper, there abound comics and graphic novels published within the
last decade or so whose very existence is possible only in cultural
and economic contexts rich with Japanese comics in translation, such
as Scott Pilgrim, Megatokyo, and Yen Press’s Twilight graphic novels.

There is no one universally agreed-on name for these works;
appellations include OEL manga, world manga, Amerimanga, international
manga, and—the term used here—global manga. Some would dismiss global
manga as “fake manga,” as pale imitations of their Japanese
counterparts, as unworthy of attention from readers, let alone
researchers. This book aims, however, to take seriously the political
economy and cultural production of these Japanese comics outside
Japan.

The phrase “Japanese comics outside Japan” does not merely suggest
manga published in translation or manga materially exported from
Japan. At its most radical, it suggests, rather, manga without Japan.
There is a sometimes globalized, sometimes transnational, and
sometimes hyperlocal world in which manga can be produced without any
direct creative input at all from Japan. And if something called
“manga” that is not in any strict sense Japanese can be published,
there are a number of important questions to be asked: What do these
fields of cultural production look like? Why and under what sorts of
conditions do they arise and flourish? Who gets to decide what counts
as “manga,” and who benefits from that decision? What are global
manga’s implications for contemporary economies of cultural and
creative labor? And finally—perhaps most important of all—what does it
mean, therefore, for manga to be “authentically” Japanese?

This anthology takes the problematic of what it means to have manga
without direct Japanese involvement as its focus. Chapters addressing
the theme of global manga outlined in the previous paragraphs are
solicited, with a view toward the publication of a multi-authored
volume consisting of between 10-12 chapters. A commissioning editor
from a well-known academic press has expressed preliminary interest in
this project.

Possible topics include (but are not limited to):

OEL manga, GloBL manga, amerimanga, manhwa, and/or manhua creation/publishing
local manga production in Korea, France, China, Indonesia, Germany, or
other national territories
single title case studies
amateur manga/doujinshi publishing outside Japan
theoretical analyses of “real” versus “fake” manga
first-person historical overviews/reflective essays by industry insiders
the production of transmedia tie-in manga

SUBMISSION PROCEDURE:

Chapter proposals from authors with both academic and
industry/practitioner backgrounds are welcome. Prospective
contributors should submit 1) an extended abstract of 450-500 words,
2) an indicative bibliography, and 3) a short biographical sketch no
later than August 31, 2013.

The deadline for full manuscripts of 5000-7000 words will be three
months from notification of acceptance.

Please direct any inquiries and submissions to Casey Brienza, City
University London ((casey.brienza.1 /at/ city.ac.uk)).

--
Casey Brienza
Lecturer in Publishing and Digital Media
Department of Creative Practice&  Enterprise
City University London



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