
A light novel (,
Hepburn
Hepburn may refer to:
Surname
People with the surname Hepburn (the most famous in recent times being actresses Katharine Hepburn and Audrey Hepburn):
* Hepburn (surname)
Linguistics
* Hepburn romanization, a system for the romanization of Japa ...
: ''raito noberu'') is a style of
young adult
A young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages of human development significantly influencing the definition of ...
novel
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...
primarily targeting
high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
and
middle school
A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school ...
students. The term "light novel" is a ''
wasei-eigo'', or a Japanese term formed from words in the
English language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to t ...
. Light novels are often called
or, in English, LN. The average length of a light novel is about 50,000 words, and is published in the ''
bunkobon'' format (
A6, 10.5 cm×14.8 cm or 4.1"x5.8"). Light novels are subject to dense publishing schedules, with new installations being published in 3–9-month intervals.
Light novels are commonly illustrated in a
manga
Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory