Viz has sent out
a press release stating that they are further expanding into the novel publishing business. Their first novels will me
Fullmetal Alchemist: The Land of Sand,
Ghost in the Shell: Innocence After the Long Goodbye and
Steamboy, published under the
Viz Media label, and
Socrates in Love and
Kamikaze Girls, published under the
Shojo Beat Fiction label.
Fullmetal Alchemist ($9.99),
Ghost in the Shell ($19.99) and
Socrates in Love ($17.99) are due out in October, followed by
Steamboy ($17.99) in December and
Kamikaze Girls ($17.99) in February 2006.
Viz will also be releasing the
Kamikaze Girls live action movie, based on the novel, this summer.
This isn't Viz's first foray into publishing novels; they published the English adaptation of Battle Royal in 1999.