Light novel

A light novel (Japanese: ライトノベル, Hepburn: raito noberu) is a type of popular literature novel from Japan usually classified as young adult fiction, generally targeting teens to twenties or older. The definition is very vague and wide-ranging, but it generally refers to a story accompanied with manga-style illustrations, often in black and white.

"Raito noberu" is the wasei-eigo from "light novel" and its abbreviation is the clipped compoundranobe (ラノベ) or, in English, LN.

Light novels are published in the bunkobon format (A6, 10.5 cm × 14.8 cm [4.1 in × 5.8 in]). They are subject to dense publishing schedules, with new installments being published in three-to-nine-month intervals.

Light novels are often adapted into manga and anime. Whilst most light novels are published only as books, some have their chapters first serialized monthly in anthology magazines or via the Internet as web novels before being collected and compiled into book format, similar to how manga is published.