Publishing house HarperCollins Children’s Books has announced plans to launch a graphic novel imprint called HarperAlley. The imprint plans to release its first books in the Fall of 2020, under the direction of editorial director Andrew Arnold. In a press release from HarperCollins, the imprint was described as a “collaborative, creator-focused publisher” for “readers of all ages.”
In a statement about the imprint, Arnold said that, although the imprint is under HarperCollins Children’s Books, the line is “looking to publish books that readers of all ages can enjoy, from the youngest readers to teens and adults. ”
According to him, HarperAlley is expecting to publish about 10 books a season, or 30 books a year, and is already acquiring books with a “staff solely dedicated to HarperAlley and editors and designers who have successfully published graphic novels.” Arnold was formerly the art director and acquiring editor at First Second, the graphic novel imprint for Macmillan Publishers.
HarperCollins already boasts a number of graphic novels in its back-catalog and had recently signed a three-book deal with “Mooncakes” artist Wendy Xu, whose first book under the deal is due out in 2021. They also recently won a bidding war for publishing rights to Nadia Shammas and Sara Alfageeh’s graphic novel “Squire.”
