Kiley Named Tokyopop Editor-in-Chief

by Calvin Reid -- Publishers Weekly, 9/13/2004

Mike Kiley, a former bookseller and one of the founders of Tokyopop, has been named v-p and editor-in-chief of the L.A.–based manga publishing house. Tokyopop president and COO John Parker praised Kiley for his creativity and "love of pop culture" and said he would be "instrumental" in helping Tokyopop serve the ever-growing international popularity of manga.

Kiley told PW that licensed manga is the "core business" of Tokyopop, and in his new job he will be charged with "looking for new licensing partners in Japan." He said the house is also looking at "new publishing formats," such as manga novels (prose stories with manga illustrations), and expanding its cine-manga line of books. He also cited Tokyopop's Rising Stars program, a contest that cultivates original manga artists from the U.S. and around the world. "We want to lead the effort to further the awareness of manga internationally," he said.

Kiley began his publishing career as an academic bookseller at the University of California, Irvine, eventually launching the university's Internet bookstore. He joined Tokyopop in 1998 and launched the company's Web site.