Sunmark Publishing Rights Highlights
and NEWS Mail--April 2017 Issue
Hi! My name is Naoki Umeda and I’m a member of the Rights Department at Sunmark Publishing. In April this year, it will have been 3 years since I graduated from university. That time has passed so incredibly fast!
In Japan, many people call March “the season of farewells and new encounters”. (Maybe in your country too?) But March also has some special meanings for me.
One big reason is that March 19th is my birthday! (I’ll be waiting for a very special present from you!)
Also, in March the new season starts for my favorite sport, baseball. A few days ago I counted the baseball caps I have at home and there are 19 in all! Collecting baseball caps is my hobby, and I’ve even gone to the United States just to buy baseball caps at stadiums!
If you go to a baseball stadium and find a nice cap, please take a photo of it and show it to me. It could become my 20th memorable cap!
If you have any questions or inquiries about this NEWS Mail, please contact Ms. Shino Kobayashi, Rights Manager (rights@sunmark.co.jp).
Latest News on How Even the Stiffest People Can Do the Splits With Ease
Our million-selling title How Even the Stiffest People Can Do the Splits With Ease is now spreading around the world. The rights have been sold to Taiwan, Korea, Thailand, Germany, the USA, Norway, Sweden, and Finland so far. We’ve also received signs of interest from several other countries and territories. Now we know that being able to do a 180-degree leg split is a dream in a lot of places around the world.
ISBN978-4-7631-3610-7 C0030
286 pages / January 2017 / 1,500 yen (w/o tax)
This is a neuroscience-backed study method that is sure to make information stick.
“Even though I’m studying, I don’t feel like the information is staying with me.”
“I’m not getting the desired results from my studies.”
“I don’t feel like I’m progressing in my studies.”
“My studies haven’t improved my work results and salary.”
Do you feel this way, too?
Without exception, people who can’t achieve satisfying results from their studies are victims of “wasteful studying.”
Wasting time, wasting money and wasting energy: This book will teach you how to avoid these and will explain how to study in a way that guarantees results.
Zion Kabasawa is a psychiatrist and the author of the best-selling book Techniques for Reading Without Forgetting, which sold more than 150,000 copies.
For the first time, he introduces “a study method with the quickest and greatest results” that is backed by psychiatry, neuroscience and psychology. Coming from his experience as an “SNS professional,” he also offers wisdom about social media, how to put knowledge acquired through study to proper use, and how to achieve overwhelming personal growth. Why not learn How to Study Without Wasting Time, Money and Energy?
– Chapter One
5 things you can acquire from studying, and 4 reasons why your study method isn’t working
– Chapter Two
Your brain is stimulated by “fun”– The neuroscientific “study method that’s fun for the brain”
– Chapter Three
Rejuvenate your life — The neuroscientific “4 study strategies for adults”
– Chapter Four
Learn the basics first — The neuroscientific “observational learning method”
– Chapter Five
Repeat input and output — The neuroscientific “input–output study method”
– Chapter Six
Further accelerate growth — The neuroscientific “super-output study method”
– Chapter Seven
Overcome a slump — The neuroscientific “10-year study method”
I too can admit to not following through with my studies on various occasions, especially when it comes to language study or working toward certain qualifications. I wish I had come across this book much earlier. This is the final part of the series that includes Techniques for Reading Without Forgetting and The Art of Memorization. I recommend buying the complete set!
ISBN978-4-7631-3604-6 C0095
341 pages / January 2017 / 1,400 yen (w/o tax)
A lazy 18-year-old high school student meets a group of inspirational adults who live in the “now”.
This is the long-awaited full-length novel by the author whose book sales have surpassed 700,000 copies.
The protagonist, Souta, is a high school senior who swims faster than the other third-year students and is envied by his peers. However, fear of losing to his rivals causes him to quit swimming and join the school’s calligraphy club, and he begins to fall behind in his studies. One day, he passes out on the side of the road because of heatstroke. When he wakes up, he finds himself in the bar from a movie called Ladybird, which his father had watched countless times and Souta had seen once with his father. Those he sees standing around him are the same characters from the movie. The lively lifestyle of these characters changes Souta’s life.
“I found life boring, but after meeting them that day, I decided to become an adult who keeps his promises.”
This is a brand-new story with vivid characters by a master of youth novels who always paints an accurate picture of life as a teenager. Reading this book will make you reflect on your own life.
Once I was finally able to get my hands on the first draft of the novel, I was initially shocked. A secret society? “Ladybird”? They act like children! What’s with this setting? What sort of stories is Yasushi Kitagawa trying to write? But as I kept reading, I realized that the concept of the “secret society” is interchangeable with that of the “office,” the “family” and “friends.” Also, the book leaves us refreshed, with an earnest feeling about the coming years of our lives and the importance of living through them to the best of our ability. Please enjoy Yasushi Kitagawa’s new frontier.