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ALC Publishing Founder: No Plans to Publish Anything New
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
Erica Friedman, president of Yuricon and ALC Publishing, announced on her blog on Monday that she is stepping down as the events chair of Yuricon, and also noted that she is "giving up, for the moment, hope of publishing anything new." Friedman added that she and ALC Publishing could not afford print distribution, and also expressed the opinion that fans "don't want digital" manga releases.
ALC Publishing had been partnering with JManga since last year to publish yuri manga such as Hayako Gotō's Poor Poor Lips, Kuzushiro's Kimino Tamenara Shineru, Namori's Yuruyuri, Rikachi's Sorairo Girl Friend, Taishi Zaou and Eiki Eiki's Haru Natsu Aki Fuyu, Rikachi's Ibara no Namida, Akiko Morishima's Hanjuku-Joshi, and Hajime Mikuni's Gokujō Drops manga. However, JManga announced last week that it will be "concluding its retail and viewing services" on May 30.
Friedman added in her post that she will still be promoting yuri manga through her Okazu blog, and said that she is not "giving up loving Yuri." Friedman added, "I'm merely giving up trying to create a sustainable Yuri market here in the the US." Friedman founded ALC Publishing in 2003 "to create and disseminate high quality Yuri (Lesbian or Girl's Love) comics to the worldwide English-speaking audience." The company has also published Rica Takashima's Rica 'tte Kanji!? yuri manga in English in print, and ALC has assisted with localization of around 20 yuri manga titles.
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