Since Shoujo Beat featured NANA, for their last 2 volumes I thought that it would be appropriate to do the first feature on her:
Feel freee to put in any information that you feel would be relevant to the NANA tribute.

What is NANA:

Genre:
comedy, drama, romance, shoujo

Summary:
Two young women, both with the name Nana, one with a punk backround and another with the naive upper middle class mindset, find each other in Tokyo, as they pursue love and careers. Their transition to the adult phase is not without drama.http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encycloped...nga.php?id=2745


Mangaka
Ai Yazawa

About the Mangaka
Ai Yazawa is a popular girls' comic author in Japan. She has written many stories that are read among Japanese girls and women. The girls in her stories are always very fashionable and stylish, and many readers adore her fashion sense. Her stories are also very lovable, and many readers identify with the characters in the story. She has also published many illustration collections.

Other works by Ai Yazawa
"Tennshi-nannkajanai,"
"Gokinnjo-Monogatari,"
"Paradise Kiss,"

Miscellaenous
"NANA" is the most recent and ongoing series. So far (Nov. 2002), there are seven books in the series, which have sold a total of 750 million copies.
http://www.japan-101.com/art/yazawa.htm