Get Ready for Summer YJam 2008! (ConAlert/Press Release)
Con Alert! Con Alert!! Okay this one is a little early but there is a new con brewing in America's southwest. Yaoi Jamboree will take place in the middle of summer con season 08 out in Phoenix, Arizona. Hot location for manga filled with hot men making their own hot scenes.

Personally I hope this event will take some pointers from YaoiCon - big artist alley and lots of fan interaction. As many of you know, as much as I enjoy American anime conventions my intentions are a little skewed towards doujinshi and developing a manga base in the States. Some cons do that, but generally the smaller cons or those rare manga cons (MangaNext and YaoiCon) are the only ones that really nurture more than the commercial side of their talented guests. So if an event like this is handled properly artists and fans (which make up a good percentage of the BL community out here) could use events like this for networking and developing their craft. Which in turn would help a publisher like Yaoi Press as new artists, writers and readers will increase with each new event. Genius!... Ahemm. Yeah, not exactly the manga con every week deal that I see in Japan or Korea but this could be that next step.

Curious to see how the YaoiJam will pan out over the next year. And I hope airfare is cheap that time of year...

Yaoi Press Starts Fan Convention

Phoenix, AZ
July 9, 2007

–Yaoi Press, the leading publisher of manga influenced yaoi, announces Yaoi Jamboree, a new fan convention to run June 20-22nd in Phoenix Arizona.

“We were eager to see more BL themed conventions start up,” says Yaoi Press Publisher, Yamila Abraham. “The staff for two Phoenix area anime conventions approached us about starting one. Once we saw we had competent people to operate the show it was an easy decision for us.”

Yaoi Jamboree will be held at the Renaissance Phoenix Hotel, in Glendale, Arizona. The venue will provide a 36,000 sq. ft. exhibit hall, a ballroom, a theater, and multiple panel rooms.

Guests will include Japanese mangaka, as well as creators for Yaoi Press. Plans are underway for unique main events involving male actors from an area playhouse. Yaoi Press will publish an art book of attendee submissions to distribute at the show.

Attendees must be at least 18 years old, and first year turn-out is estimated at 2,000. “We will be aggressively promoting the show,” says Abraham. “Yaoi Jamboree will be advertised both by itself, and in conjunction with regular Yaoi Press advertisements. It will be publicized at many shows Yaoi Press attends.”

About Yaoi Press

Yaoi is a romantic genre that deals with stories about men in love with men for women readers. Yaoi Press borrowed their theme from Japan where it’s been hugely popular for several decades. Yaoi has gained a strong foothold in the United States.

Yaoi Press was founded in 2004, and has published twenty global yaoi manga graphic novels and one yaoi art book to date. Yaoi Press titles are distributed by Diamond Book Distributors.

For more information please visit www.yaoipress.com and www.yaoijamboree.com.