Black Ink, a Philippine manga publisher, is calling for submissions from writers and artists. Black Ink, an imprint of PPC (Precious Pages Corporation), the home of the Philippines’ well-known love stories under the Precious Hearts Romances banner, is looking for new storytellers and illustrators to produce a fresh batch of manga and light novels.

Having released its first batch of books in 2012, Black Ink produces manga novels with themes of romance, Boys’ Love (BL), action, and drama. They also produce manuals on creative writing and manga-style illustrations.

Its titles include bestselling author Gwy Saludes’s trending Twitter series Along España, the feel-good Boys’ Love manga It’s A Labor Date, the action-fantasy story The Simple Life of Jack, the romance series Hello Band Junior volumes 1 to 4, and the instructional manual Manga Crash Course volumes 1 to 3, among many others.

Toni Velasco, PPC's brand manager, shared that the continuous growth of graphic content and the Black Ink brand are some of the reasons that made them look for new storytellers. She said, “We are currently in the process of establishing our own Black Ink art studio, hence acquiring new stories and illustrators.”

Velasco said the main requirements for the stories to be published is for them to be compelling and engaging, but they also want more Boys’ Love stories for Black Ink.

Black Ink shared the submission guidelines on their official Facebook page:

When asked if there’s a published work of Black Ink that could be adapted into a movie or series, Velasco said, “A few stories we think can be adapted into a series is Poster Boy by Herbs Navasca. A cute story of ‘from enemies to lovers.’”

She shared more details about the story. “The story is about the journey of Pascal, embracing his identity, and a heartwarming romance with his rival, Sy. It's a young adult story that will surely bring kilig to the Boys’ Love fans.”

There is also a title called Tonio Tikbalang that is also worthy of being turned into a motion picture or series. According to her, Tonio Tikbalang is based on Philippine folklore and revolves around the mythical creature Tikbalang. However, he is a kind Tikbalang who takes on human form and lives alongside humans.

Velasco also revealed that there is one Black Ink title that was already acquired for big screen adaptation. She said, “And of course, Along España, the trending Twitter serye of Gwy Saludes was published by Black Ink and was acquired by Star Cinema.”

As of this date, there is still no confirmation from Star Cinema about the production and release dates for the said project.

—by Bianca Padilla