MAIN NEWS HEADLINES

December 15-31, 2005 Edition

Random House

To Distribute Japan’s

Vertical Book Titles

NEW YORK, NY/12/10/05—Vertical Inc., which translates contemporary Japanese books into English, has formally announced that Random House Distribution will now exclusively handle the company’s North American distribution and sales, effective January 1, 2006. Vertical was formerly distributed through National Book Network, since the translation company’s founding in 2003.

Random House’s third party distribution services include sales representation to both the chain and independent channels, marketing to the book trade and academic, library and retail markets, and fulfillment of all orders in North America. Vertical’s UK distribution will remain with Turnaround Publishers Services.

Vertical’s investors had been pressing the company to find better ways to handle its potential growth and enhance the value of its portfolio. Vertical President, Hiroki Sakai, said he has been “amazed at how passionate and dedicated they [Random House] are to us as people.”

In Summer 2006, Vertical will introduce a new line of paperback editions from hardcover originals, and will add more new properties in Fall 2006.

Vertical translations include popular novels, graphic novels, and quality nonfiction from Japan’s robust book market.

Until Vertical’s publications, most Japanese books translated into English have been either literary classics or introductions to traditional culture meant for a limited circle of Japanophiles. Vertical publishes titles that require no prior knowledge of Japanese culture and are not intended primarily to familiarize readers with it. The company focuses on “good reads with universal themes.”