Anime Industry Veteran Lance Heiskell Joins Event Organizer LeftField Media
New York, NY (July 28, 2021) - Pop culture event organizer LeftField Media, part of the Clarion Events family, today announced Mr. Lance Heiskell has joined as Manager of Guests and Programming for its Anime NYC and Anime Frontier Japanese pop culture festivals. Heiskell comes to Anime NYC and Anime Frontier with over a decade of experience in the anime industry, which he'll bring to bolster the talent, events, and publisher presence at both conventions.
Serving at Funimation for 13 years, Heiskell oversaw strategy and marketing for over 400 anime titles, including AAA anime franchises Fullmetal Alchemist and Fruits Basket, as well as established the brand voice of Funimation, emphasizing a direct and active relationship with its devoted audiences. Heiskell served in the roles of Brand Manager, Marketing Director, and Director of Corporate Strategy, and after leaving Funimation, Heiskell consulted with anime industry companies across the US.
Heiskell will now bring his robust knowledge, experience, and relationships to amplify the fan experience throughout Anime NYC and Anime Frontier, including developing new curated content, expanding the roster of top-tier guests, and working closely with anime and manga publishers in both the US and Japan to foster richer and deeper participation.
"I'm honored to welcome Lance Heiskell to Anime NYC and Anime Frontier," said Peter Tatara, LeftField's VP of Anime Events. "Lance has spent more than a decade working with anime brands of every size, with great care and attention to fans at the center of all his work. I'm excited for how Lance will expand Anime NYC and Anime Frontier overall, and I'm tremendously excited for how he will strengthen our relationships with fans and partners."
"I'm very excited to get to work with Anime NYC and Anime Frontier," said Lance Heiskell. "My whole career has been spent furthering direct conversations with anime fans and creators, and there's no more direct dialogue than a convention. I'm looking forward to now building a platform that brings anime fans, publishers, and creators together in new, meaningful ways."
Anime NYC Powered by Crunchyroll is New York's largest anime, manga, and Japanese pop culture convention. It is expected to welcome over 50,000 attendees when it returns to the Javits Center for its fourth year on November 19-21, 2021. The event has previously played host to major Japanese celebrities, worldwide premieres, and the largest Japanese concerts in NYC history - all with tremendous support from Crunchyroll and fellow publishers across the anime and manga industries. It will expand an additional 116,000 square feet, taking over the Javits Center's entire main floor, for the first time when it returns this year.
Anime Frontier Powered by Crunchyroll is a new launch from the LeftField team. Based on the success of Anime NYC, Anime Frontier will bring a large, professionally-run anime convention to audiences in Texas when it starts Dec 3-5, 2021. Anime Frontier's goal is to present the same massive experiences popular with fans in New York City to new fans in Dallas-Fort Worth for the first time this year.
Both events are being planned closely with local government officials to be run as healthy, safe festivals for all participants.
Tickets to both Anime NYC and Anime Frontier are available now, and attendees can look forward to the latest from sponsors, partners, and publishers including Crunchyroll, with new announcements around show guests and programming to be made across the summer and fall.
About LeftField Media
LeftField Media, LLC is an events company focused on developing face-to-face events in a range of communities rooted in contemporary culture and shared passion. LeftField was formed in 2014 by Greg Topalian and is now owned by Topalian and Clarion Events Ltd. With a keen sense of the evolving needs of businesses and their consumers, as well as new opportunities created by change, LeftField takes a clean slate approach to its work. LeftField's portfolio includes Awesome Con, Washington D.C.'s Comic Con; Rose City Comic Con, in Portland, OR; Anime NYC, a Japanese pop culture festival in New York City; and Anime Frontier, launching in Fort Worth, TX this year. LeftField Media is headquartered in historic Shelton, CT.