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Abrams Books, Abrams ComicArts Employees Vote in Favor of Union

ICv2 reported on Monday that employees at Abrams Books and its manga- and comic book-focused division Abrams ComicArts have voted to unionize with an 88% vote for the union. The new union is part of UAW Local 2110.

The voting took place from April 30 to May 21 and follows multiple rounds of layoffs and health benefit cuts at the company. The UAW Local 2110 represents over 3,000 workers in publishing as well as universities, museums, and law firms.

Abrams ComicArts launched a new manga-focused imprint for the United States market named Kana on April 23. The imprint will publish both Japanese manga and French comics, and the imprint's initial list of licensed titles includes three manga and three French comics. All three of Kana's manga licenses have French editions by Éditions Ki-oon, and include: Shiro Kuroi's Leviathan (serialized in Shonen Jump+), Yumeji's Eden of Witches (serialized in Kadokawa's Harta), and Tetsuya Tsutsui's Manhole (serialized in Square Enix's Young Gangan). Kana aims to publish 40-60 paperback titles every year. Hachette will be the distributor.

Abrams Books founded the Abrams ComicArts imprint in 2009. The imprint focuses on graphic novels and books about comic book history. The imprint became a full division of Abrams Books in April 2023.

Source: ICv2 (Milton Griepp)