J-Novel Club Adds 11 Light Novels and Two Manga to Its Catalog

J-Novel Club used its New York Comic Con panel on Saturday to announce a sizable round of new licenses, covering eleven light novel series and two manga series, along with several print and audiobook plans.

The light novel additions lean into the publisher’s signature mix of fantasy and villainess stories. Among the named titles are Scooped Up by an S Rank Adventurer and The Villainess Speaks Not, with plenty more rounding out the list.

There was especially nice news for fans of original works. Three winners of the 2024 JNC Original Light Novel Contest are getting print releases in April 2026, including The Adorable Dungeon Master, the contest’s BookWalker Prize winner, the first prize winner An Unruly Summon, and ATLAS.

On top of the books, J-Novel Club also revealed two new audiobook licenses, giving readers yet another way to enjoy its growing library.

Altogether it is one of the publisher’s bigger announcements of the season, with a healthy balance of licensed hits and homegrown original titles.

My take: What stands out most to me is the push to print the contest winners, since giving original creators a physical release is a real vote of confidence. It is great to see new voices sitting right alongside the established ones.