VIZ MEDIA AND SIMON & SCHUSTER RENEW SUCCESSFUL INTERNATIONAL SALES AND DISTRIBUTION PARTNERSHIP

VIZ MEDIA AND SIMON & SCHUSTER RENEW SUCCESSFUL INTERNATIONAL SALES AND DISTRIBUTION PARTNERSHIP

Global Publishing Leader To Continue To Offer Retail And Wholesale Distribution And Develop New Markets in the United States and United Kingdom For North America's Foremost Manga Company

NEW YORK, LONDON and SAN FRANCISCO, November 12, 2015 VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest publisher, distributor and licensor of manga, graphic novels, and anime in North America, and Simon & Schuster today announced the renewal of their longstanding sales and distribution partnership in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

Simon & Schuster has been the exclusive distribution partner of VIZ Media manga titles (graphic novels) for the United States and Canadian markets since 2004, providing a range of retail and wholesale distribution services including warehousing, fulfillment, customer service, and accounts receivable collection for VIZ Media's substantial library of titles. The company manages distribution for all of VIZ Media's imprints including Shonen Jump, Shonen Jump Advanced, Shojo Beat, Shonen Sunday, Perfect Square, VIZ Signature, Studio Ghibli Library and Haikasoru.

Since September 2007, Simon & Schuster UK has been the exclusive distributor of VIZ Media titles across several international territories including Great Britain, Ireland and South Africa, and the fast-growing Indian market via Simon & Schuster India.

The massive popularity of manga among a broad cross-section of international readers of all ages speaks to the universal appeal of the genre, says Michael Selleck, Simon & Schuster Executive Vice President, Sales & Marketing. We are very happy to deepen our relationship with VIZ Media both domestically and internationally, where we are seeing exciting growth in markets such as the Philippines and Singapore.

We are delighted to renew our long-standing sales and distribution agreement with VIZ Media, said Gill Richardson, Group Sales Director, Simon & Schuster UK. Since 2007, we have been delivering the best manga titles to the UK and Ireland, adding South Africa in 2008, and India in 2014. We look forward to many more years of this fruitful partnership.

Simon & Schuster is a key partner for VIZ Media and has provided us with the industry leading infrastructure that has been critical to supporting our continued growth, both across North America and increasingly, in new international territories, said Kevin Hamric, Senior Director, Publishing Sales & Marketing, VIZ Media. As the global fan base for VIZ Media's extensive manga catalog continues to grow in burgeoning markets in India, the Philippines and other countries, Simon & Schuster will play a crucial role in our strategy to develop these new audiences.

About Simon & Schuster

Simon & Schuster, a part of the CBS Corporation, is a global leader in the field of general interest publishing, dedicated to providing the best in fiction and nonfiction for consumers of all ages, across all printed, electronic, and audio formats. Its divisions include Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing, Simon & Schuster Children s Publishing, Simon & Schuster Audio, Simon & Schuster Digital and international companies in Australia, Canada, India and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.simonandschuster.com.

About Simon & Schuster UK

Simon & Schuster UK is one of the leading general book publishing companies in the UK,giving readers the very best of fiction, non-fiction and children's books. Home to bestselling brands, award-wining writers and critical hits, Simon and Schuster UK is home to authors as diverse as Philippa Gregory, Ranulph Fiennes, Tom Rob Smith, Tyler Oakley, Walter Isaacson and Lynda La Plante to name but a few. The group is based in London with sister companies in Australia, Canada and the United States. It also runs a sales and distribution service for a number of independent and international publishers including VIZ Media, Andrews McMeel Publishing, Rebellion, and Black Library. For more information, visit our website at www.simonandschuster.co.uk.

About VIZ Media, LLC

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, VIZ Media distributes, markets and licenses the best anime and manga titles direct from Japan. Owned by three of Japan s largest manga and animation companies, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., VIZ Media has the most extensive library of anime and manga for English speaking audiences in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa. With its popular digital manga anthology WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP and blockbuster properties like NARUTO, BLEACH and ONE PIECE, VIZ Media offers cutting-edge action, romance and family friendly properties for anime, manga, science fiction and fantasy fans of all ages. VIZ Media properties are available as graphic novels, DVDs, animated television series, feature films, downloadable and streaming video and a variety of consumer products. Learn more about VIZ Media, anime and manga at www.VIZ.com.

LINK:	http://www.viz.com/news/newsroom/v/1006269...
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