Courtesy of Michele Wells
Michele Wells, interim editor-in-chief at DC Comics, is joining digital publisher Tapas Media in the newly created role of chief content officer. Wells will oversee Tapas’ development slate of all-new, original IP for both webcomics and novels, and shape the creative vision for the company. She starts on March 1.
“Tapas is known for groundbreaking, next-generation storytelling, and I’m excited to join such an innovative team,” Wells said in an exclusive statement to Variety. “As storytellers, it’s our responsibility to create content that reflects the authentic voices and experiences of the world around us, so we’ll be producing original IP with established creators while also finding and supporting up-and-coming talent and their unique perspectives. We’ll be exploring partnership opportunities with traditional publishers, as well as working to adapt our content for film and TV. With such amazing opportunities ahead, I cannot wait to join the talented content team to continue delivering successes both on and off the Tapas platform!”
“We’re extremely thrilled to have Michele as our Chief Content Officer,” said Tapas CEO and founder Chang Kim. “Michele is joining our team at an incredibly exciting moment of our company. We’ve seen an unprecedented amount of growth in the past year, and as we start to envision the next stages of our company’s evolution, we couldn’t have asked for a better partner in Michele — her genuine passion for storytelling and her experience spanning both the publishing world and the entertainment world puts her in a unique position to not only understand who we are but also help us achieve what we want to be.”
Before stepping into the interim editor-in-chief position at DC (along with Marie Javins) in 2020, Wells founded the company’s middle grade and young adult graphic novel imprints, and was named VP and executive editor of those lines. She joined DC in 2017 as VP of content strategy. Prior to DC, Wells was the executive editor at Disney Publishing Worldwide, and she has over 20 years of experience in content acquisition and development, with a focus on content for kids and family.
Wells was the founding chairperson of First Book-Brooklyn, a nonprofit organization that provides new books to kids in need. She serves on the advisory board of Reading With Pictures. And she volunteers regularly with Los Angeles and New York City-based literacy and mentoring programs. She’s also the author of several books for children and young adults. She lives in Los Angeles.
Tapas Media, Inc., founded in 2012, focuses on digital, “bite-sized” content delivered through its online platform, Tapas. Through Studio Tapas, the company has started exploring development of its own original stories as a publisher, through print publishing, podcasting, film, television and other ventures. The company aims to develop over 400 original stories by 2022, focusing on romance, fantasy and action. The company reports 6.7 billion-plus views to date from more than 3 million unique readers, primarily in North America. The company also has partnerships with Scholastic, Zoic Studios, Vault Comics, BOOM!, Hachette Book Group, Ten Speed Press (Penguin Random House), KakaoPage, Podium Audio, Frolic Media and Madison Wells.
Variety's Adam B. Vary contributed to this post.
https://variety.com/2021/biz/news/michele-tapas-media-chief-content-officer-1234915611/
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