Crossed Hearts, a new publisher dually based in Los Angeles and Bengaluru, India, has launched with a focus on localizing and distributing Japanese manga, Korean webcomics, and Asian light novels to English-language markets worldwide, per an announcement.
With a team of more than 50 employees, the press has already lined up two titles for this fall, and plans to release 30 titles spanning 20 different series by 2027. Many of Crossed Hearts’ planned titles are launching in print in English-language markets for the first time, according to founder and director Niharika Puthamakula, whose pen name is Aurora Aurealis.
Whereas English print editions of popular Asian webcomics and manga often only come out several years after the series is completed, Crossed Hearts will focus on printing ongoing series by signing contracts with webcomics publishers that cover the duration of the series, Puthamakula said.
Crossed Hearts’ inaugural slate kicks off with print editions of titles from popular romantasy webcomics series, including Baroness Goes on Strike (November 25), From a Knight to a Lady (December 13), and The Archduke’s Adopted Saint (spring 2026), with each title publishing in the U.K. slightly prior to the U.S. release. Baroness, the first release, will be available in a limited-edition format to pre-orders made through Crossed Hearts’ website, which will launch in October.
In addition to U.K. and U.S. distribution, the latter of which will be handled by Publishers Group West, Crossed Hearts’ distribution network spans Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, India, and parts of Latin America, per the announcement. Puthamakula said the publisher has plans to expand to Southeast Asia, South Africa, and the Middle East next year.
While Crossed Hearts is focused on getting titles to English-language readers more efficiently, Puthamakula hopes the publisher can also provide fans a unique way to interact with the stories they love. Given that many Asian-origin webcomics series are already available to English-language readers online, Crossed Hearts is pushing print-exclusive features like collectible photo cards and empty journal pages. “We were thinking, how can a reader customize the reading experience so that their book doesn’t feel like any other?” Puthamakula said of the journal pages, which make it so that “their book can be their own keepsake.”
Like Baroness, all of Crossed Hearts’ webcomic editions will also be available in limited-edition formats featuring French flaps, extendible pages, and other collectible features, in addition to standard paperback.
Though Crossed Hearts is starting out with romance webcomics with established online audiences ranging from 20–130 million readers, Puthamakula said that 2026 will also bring manga releases in other genres, as well as at least two light novels.
“When it comes to the manga titles that will be releasing soon, we have action and multiple other subgenres within it, including fantasy, mystery, and thriller,” Puthamakula said. Ideally, Crossed Hearts can provide “a good list for people who like reading a wide variety of books in general,” she added.
To help diversify their program, Puthamakula said that Crossed Hearts plans to unveil four new imprints in May 2026. Two of the imprints will be format-based, with one dedicated exclusively to light novels and the other for anthologies of completed series. The other two will focus on the popular queer romance genres boys’ love and girls’ love.