Japanese Literary Awards

Literary Awards

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373 literary awards

Kurashi Novel Grand Award

Established
2013
Frequency
Once a year
Organizer
Publishing Department, Sangyo Henshu Center Co., Ltd.
Selection Method
Open call
Category
General Fiction and Popular Fiction
Target
Newcomer
Application Deadline
around October
Announcement Period
around May
NovelsNewcomer Literary Award

A newcomer open-call literary award targeting novels dealing with clothing, food, and housing.

Prize: The grand prize-winning work will be published as a single-volume book and the specified royalties will be paid.

Energy Forum Novel Award

Established
2015
Frequency
Annual
Organizer
Energy Forum Inc.
Selection Method
Open call
Category
General Fiction and Popular Fiction
Target
Newcomer
Application Deadline
around May
Announcement Period
around October–November
Literary awardNovel

An open literary prize for unpublished fiction related to energy, the environment, or science, with a cash prize and book publication for the winning work.

Prize: Prize money of 500,000 yen

Japan Literature Hall Grand Award

Established
2007
Frequency
Monthly open calls (every month), final selection once per year
Organizer
Japan Literature Hall
Selection Method
Open call
Category
Literature and General Literary Arts
Target
Open
Application Deadline
around December
Literary awardShort storyUltra-short storyFive-line poem

The highest literary award established by Japan Literature Hall in 2007. Monthly open calls are conducted, selecting the grand prize from monthly excellent awards.

Prize: Main prize: Award plaque, Additional prize: 500,000 yen

Shosetsu Shincho Award

Established
1954
Frequency
Once a year
Organizer
Shinchosha
Selection Method
Open call
Category
General Fiction and Popular Fiction
Target
Newcomer
Newcomer literary awardNovel

Open submission newcomer literary award established by Shinchosha in 1954. Targets novels within 50 pages, and winners receive a commemorative item and 100,000 yen.

Prize: Commemorative item and 100,000 yen cash prize

Shosetsu Gendai Newcomer Award

Established
1963
Frequency
Twice a year
Organizer
Kodansha
Selection Method
Open call
Category
General Fiction and Popular Fiction
Target
Newcomer
Literature

Kodansha-sponsored open call newcomer literary award. Solicits medium-length and short stories; winning works are published in Shosetsu Gendai.

Prize: Winners are awarded 1 million yen in prize money. Winning works are published in Shosetsu Gendai.

Shinpusha Publishing Award

Established
1996
Frequency
Twice a year
Organizer
Shinpusha
Selection Method
Open call
Category
Publishing Culture and Book Culture
Target
Open
FictionNonfictionPoetryVisual

A publishing award run by Shinpusha from 1996 to 2007, with categories including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and visual works.

Prize: Publication of winning works (Shinpusha covers publishing costs)

KAPPA-ONE

Established
2002
Frequency
Twice a year
Organizer
Kobunsha
Selection Method
Open call
Category
General Fiction and Popular Fiction
Target
Newcomer
Application Deadline
around June, around December
Full-length novel

Kobunsha's open call project for discovering new full-length novel talent. Effectively suspended after the 2007 recruitment, and from 2014, launched Kappa・Two as the successor project targeting honkaku mysteries.

Prize: Winning work published by Kobunsha Kappa Novels

KADOKAWA Entertainment Next Award

Established
2002
Frequency
Once a year
Organizer
Kadokawa Shoten
Selection Method
Open call
Category
General Fiction and Popular Fiction
Target
Newcomer
NovelsNew Writer Literary Prize

Open call new writer literary prize sponsored by Kadokawa Shoten (held twice in total)

Prize: Publication of winning work as B6 variant parallel-bound book

Faust Prize

Established
2003
Frequency
Irregular
Organizer
Kodansha's Faust editorial team
Selection Method
Open call
Category
Light Novels and Web Literature
Target
Newcomer
New Writer Literary AwardShort Story Award

A public submission new writer literary award that began recruitment simultaneously with the magazine's launch in Japan. Solicits short stories of 80-120 sheets (400-character manuscript paper). Excellent works are published in the magazine with a manuscript fee paid.

Prize: Excellent works are published in the magazine, and authors receive a manuscript fee.

Gentosha Outlaw Grand Award

Established
2003
Frequency
Irregular
Organizer
Gentosha
Selection Method
Open call
Category
Literature and General Literary Arts
Target
Newcomer
NovelsNonfictionManga

A public submission newcomer literary award sponsored by Gentosha.

Prize: Award-winning works are published in B6 hardcover or Gentosha Outlaw Bunko.

Kirara Literary Award

Established
2006
Frequency
Ongoing
Organizer
Shogakukan
Selection Method
Open call
Category
General Fiction and Popular Fiction
Target
Newcomer
Full-length novel

An open submission rookie literary award sponsored by Shogakukan targeting unpublished full-length novels.

Prize: Winning works are announced in the "Kirara" magazine and published as single-volume books by Shogakukan.

Poplar Novel Grand Award

Established
2005
Frequency
Once a year
Organizer
Poplar Publishing
Selection Method
Open call
Category
General Fiction and Popular Fiction
Target
Newcomer
Entertainment fictionNew writer literary prize

A public newcomer literary prize for entertainment novels sponsored by Poplar Publishing.

Prize: Grand Prize (20 million yen prize money), Excellent Prize (5 million yen prize money)

Shincho Entertainment Grand Award

Established
2005
Frequency
Once a year
Organizer
Shinchosha, Fuji Television
Selection Method
Open call
Category
General Fiction and Popular Fiction
Target
Newcomer
Entertainment novels

A new-writer award for entertainment fiction organized by Shinchosha and Fuji Television, with results announced in Shosetsu Shincho. It ran from 2005 to 2012.

Prize: Prize money of 1 million yen

Da Vinci Literary Award

Established
2006
Frequency
Once a year
Organizer
Media Factory
Selection Method
Open call
Category
General Fiction and Popular Fiction
Target
Newcomer
Novel

New writer literary award sponsored by Media Factory's magazine Da Vinci.

Prize: Grand Prize: 1 million yen prize money and publication of the winning work by Media Factory

Random House Kodansha Newcomer Award

Established
2007
Frequency
Once a year
Organizer
Random House Kodansha
Selection Method
Open call
Category
General Fiction and Popular Fiction
Target
Newcomer
Literary award

A newcomer literary award sponsored by Random House Kodansha. Winning works are published in Japan and the United States.

Prize: Domestic publication of the winning work and English translation publication

Papyrus Newcomer Award

Established
2007
Frequency
Once a year
Organizer
Gentosha
Selection Method
Open call
Category
General Fiction and Popular Fiction
Target
Newcomer
Literary awardFull-length novel

A newcomer literary award sponsored by Gentosha's magazine papyrus.

Prize: Fountain pen

Kodansha BOX Newcomer Award

Established
2006
Frequency
4 times a year (3 times a year from 2013)
Organizer
Kodansha BOX
Selection Method
Open call
Category
Light Novels and Web Literature
Target
Newcomer
FictionIllustrationCriticism/Non-fiction

A genre-agnostic novel newcomer open submission award hosted by the Kodansha BOX label. Its feature is that editors read all submitted works directly.

Prize: Book publication of the winning work

Pureful Novel Award

Established
2010
Frequency
Once a year
Organizer
Poplar Publishing
Selection Method
Open call
Category
General Fiction and Popular Fiction
Target
Newcomer
Romance novelsMysteryFantasyFamily storiesSports storiesHistorical novelsOccupational novels

A literary award organized by Poplar Publishing targeting unpublished novel works written in Japanese.

Prize: Cash prize awarded to the grand prize winner

Murō Saisei Literary Award

Established
2012
Frequency
Once a year
Organizer
Yomiuri Shimbun Hokuriku Branch
Selection Method
Open call
Category
Pure Literature
Target
Newcomer
Short story

A public literary award for unpublished short fiction, established in 2012 by the Yomiuri Shimbun Hokuriku Branch to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of Murō Saisei. The award concluded after its fifth edition in 2016.

Prize: Kutani-yaki paperweight

Fujimi Light Novel Literary Grand Award

Established
2011
Frequency
Annual
Organizer
KADOKAWA / Fujimi L Bunko Editorial Department
Selection Method
Open call
Category
Light Novels and Web Literature
Target
Newcomer
Light novel literature

A KADOKAWA open fiction award from the Fujimi L Bunko editorial team for adult entertainment novels, currently promoted as the Fujimi Novel Award.

Prize: Grand Prize 1 million yen, Gold Prize 300,000 yen, Silver Prize 100,000 yen

Nakayama Gishu Literary Award

Established
1993
Frequency
Once a year
Organizer
Nakayama Gishu Commemoration Association
Selection Method
Open call
Category
Genre Fiction
Target
Professional
Announcement Period
around September–October
Historical novelsPeriod novels

Literary award targeting Japanese historical novels and period novels

Prize: Grand prize: 1,000,000 yen and 1 bale of Koshihikari rice

Historical Period Writers Club Award

Established
2012
Frequency
Once a year
Organizer
Japan Historical Period Writers Association
Selection Method
Recommendation
Category
Genre Fiction
Target
Professional
Announcement Period
around August
Historical novelsPeriod novels

A Japanese literary award aimed at the development of historical and period literature and the discovery of talent.

Nomura Kodo Literary Award

Established
2013
Frequency
annual
Organizer
Japan Writers Club
Selection Method
Recommendation
Category
Genre Fiction
Target
Professional
Announcement Period
around October
Period novelsHistorical novelsHistorical FictionPeriod Fiction

A literary award presented by the Japan Writers Club to honor Kodo Nomura, the celebrated Showa-era author best known for the detective fiction series Zenigata Heiji. The prize is awarded annually to works of historical and period fiction commercially published in the preceding year, with a prize of 300,000 yen.

Prize: The winner receives a cash prize of 300,000 yen.

Kikuchi Kan Award

Established
1939
Frequency
Once a year
Organizer
Japan Literature Promotion Society
Selection Method
Recommendation
Category
General Arts and Media Arts
Target
Professional
Announcement Period
around October
Literary award

An award sponsored by the Japan Literature Promotion Society to commend individuals or groups for remarkable achievements in various cultural fields such as literature, film, and more.

Prize: Clock as the main prize, 1 million yen in cash as the special prize

Rekishi Gunzo Grand Award

Established
1994
Frequency
Once a year
Organizer
Gakken Publishing
Selection Method
Open call
Category
Genre Fiction
Target
Open
Simulation novelsWar chronicle novelsHistorical novelsPeriod novels

Open submission newcomer literary award sponsored by the magazine "Rekishi Gunzo" published by Gakken Publishing.

Prize: Grand Prize winner receives 1 million yen in prize money

Asahi Historical Novel Grand Award

Established
2009
Frequency
Once a year
Organizer
Asahi Shimbun Publishing
Selection Method
Open call
Category
Genre Fiction
Target
Newcomer
Historical novel

Public award for unpublished full-length historical novels established to commemorate the founding of Asahi Shimbun Publishing.

Prize: 2 million yen awarded to the grand prize winner

History Literature Award

Established
1976
Frequency
Once a year
Organizer
Shinjinbutsu Orai-sha
Selection Method
Open call
Category
Genre Fiction
Target
Open
Literary awardHistory

Japanese literary award targeting literary works themed on history.

Period Novel Grand Award

Established
1990
Frequency
Once a year
Organizer
Kodansha
Selection Method
Open call
Category
Genre Fiction
Target
Newcomer
Literary award

Kodansha-sponsored open submission new writer literary award. Targets period novels and was held from 1990 to 1999.

Prize: The winner receives 10 million yen in prize money, and the winning work is published by Kodansha. Works up to the 8th edition were adapted into TV dramas.

Shiroyama Saburo Economic Novel Grand Award

Established
2004
Frequency
Once a year
Organizer
Diamond, Inc.
Selection Method
Open call
Category
Genre Fiction
Target
Newcomer
Economic novels

A Diamond, Inc. new-writer competition for full-length economic novels. It developed from the Diamond Economic Novel Grand Prize, was renamed in honor of Saburo Shiroyama in 2008, and ended after its fourth edition.

Prize: Certificate and commemorative item, cash prize of 3 million yen

Japan Medical Novel Grand Award

Established
2011
Frequency
Once a year
Organizer
Japan Medical Association
Selection Method
Open call
Category
Genre Fiction
Target
Professional
Literary awardMedical novel

A literary award sponsored by the Japan Medical Association targeting Japanese medical novels.

Prize: Certificate