The Publishers Weekly trade periodical reports that Little, Brown Books for Young Readers will publish Nagaru Tanigawa's Haruhi Suzumiya light novels in English starting in April of 2009. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is the first of the nine volumes, and the main inspiration for anime series of the same name. Little, Brown Books acquired the series from Kadokawa Shoten in a joint venture with Yen Press, who also revealed today that it will be publishing the manga version of the novels in North America. (Both companies are imprints of Hachette Book Group USA.) The first novel volume will be released in a US$8.99 trade paperback version and a US$16.99 hardcover version. 4.5 million novel copies and 1.5 million manga copies have been sold in Japan.
The story revolves around a weird but beautiful girl named Haruhi Suzumiya who convinces (or drags) several of her high school mates into joining a club that explores extraordinary phenomena and other hi-jinks.
