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Chuden Children's Literature Award

ちゅうでんじどうぶんがくしょう

A literary award to encourage the creation of children's literature and discover outstanding writers.

Children's literature
Established
1998
Organizer
Public Interest Incorporated Foundation Chuden Education Promotion Foundation
Category
Children's Literature, Fairy Tales, and Picture Books
Selection Method
Open call
Target
Open
Frequency
1 per year
Application Deadline
around September
Announcement Period
around February
Status
Active

Description

Established in 1998 by Chubu Electric Power Company as the Chubu Electric Power Children's Literature Award and sponsored by the Public Interest Incorporated Foundation Chuden Education Promotion Foundation since 2001. Children's literature works are solicited nationwide, with the grand prize awarded to outstanding works and winning entries published.

Prize

Main Prize
Publication of the grand prize-winning work

Related Awards

  • Shinmi Minagoshi Children's Literature Award
  • Children's Literature Newcomer Award

Official Resources

https://www.chuden-edu.or.jp/oubo/oubo4/oubo4.html

Past Winners

竹中明秀 たけなか あきひで award

"春の雨にぬれて、獅子はおどる" is 竹中明秀's children’s novel, and A longer work that unfolds as a children’s reading experience.

A longer work that unfolds as a children’s reading experience.

160 pages
children’s literaturenovelgrowth
海緒裕 かいお ゆう award

A stage work that digs into memory and the body under occupation from a contemporary perspective.

A stage work that digs into memory and the body under occupation from a contemporary perspective.

stagememorybodypostwar
内田健二郎 うちだ けんじろう award

Kenjiro Uchida's work Namaiki Cyclist and the Blue Line. It was published by Kodansha as Blue Line kara, Haruka, and I confirmed ISBN13 9784065355589.

A work that was retitled for publication.

160 pages
children's literatureretitled workstandalone book
志津栄子 しづ えいこ award

A children’s novel set against the family history of Japanese left behind in China. Through a shy boy and a transfer student, it portrays hard-to-say anxieties and the possibility of renewal.

Where is one’s true home? That question slowly changes the boy from within.

208 pages
children’s literaturefamilyrootsJapanese left behind in Chinafriendship
浅野竜 あさの りゅう award

A children's story set in a town in Chiba, where children observe living creatures and sort through the shifting feelings of one summer. Its attention to nature and friendships freshens the passage of growing up.

A gaze at living creatures gives the summer story its freshness.

160 pages
children's literaturesummerobservationfriendshipgrowth
葉山えみ はやま えみ award

A children's story set in a rural town, where children watch living creatures and gradually widen their world. Everyday routines and family distance quietly reveal the feel of growing up.

A single summer of attention quietly illuminates a child's growth.

178 pages
children's literaturegrowthfamilysummerobservation
眞島めいり まじま めいり award

This Japanese-language work is introduced as a prize-recognized title; the text focuses on its subject, form, and reception in a concise way for readers.

This Japanese-language work is introduced as a prize-recognized title; the text focuses on its subject, form, and reception in a concise way for readers.

162 pages
children's literaturecoming of age
高野賢一 たかの けんいち award

A children's novel published under the revised title Yuyakeiro no Wasuremono after winning the Chuden Children's Literature Award. It follows a boy uncomfortable with attention at school as unexpected encounters gradually change how he sees himself, others, and the place where he belongs.

A small unease left in the color of sunset begins to shift a boy's world.

162 pages
children's literatureschool lifecoming of agebelongingunderstanding others
Morino Komichi もりの こみち award

Originally awarded under the title Ikku Kenjo Itashimasu and published as Watashi no Sora to Go-Shichi-Go, this children’s novel follows a girl unsettled by school and friendships as she finds her own words through haiku and a literary club.

By placing her feelings into the rhythm of haiku, a girl’s sky slowly opens wider.

186 pages
children’s literaturehaikuliterary clubfriendshipself-expression
Fujisawa Tomochi ふじさわ ともち award

とうちゃんと僕、そしてユーレイババちゃん is an award-winning work by 藤澤ともち. It carefully follows its themes and expression, showing how personal experience connects with society, memory, and language.

とうちゃんと僕、そしてユーレイババちゃん looks closely at the relationship between people and the world with the density expected of an award-winning work.

award-winning workcontemporary literaturememorysocietyexpression
ながすみつき ながすみつき award

流星ドッグ is an award-winning work by ながすみつき. As the work recognized by the prize, it draws readers into its world through the concerns suggested by the title and the movement of its central figures.

Through 流星ドッグ, the work leads readers toward the author viewpoint and the core of the story.

award-winning workcontemporary literaturecharacter depictionmemory and time
澤井美穂 さわい みほ award

赤いペン is an award-recognized work by 澤井美穂. It can be read as a literary work shaped by its characters' choices and their relationship with society and time.

赤いペン is a work by 澤井美穂 that continues to draw attention through its award history.

136 pages
award-winning literaturememoryhuman relationships
Miyuki Takamori たかもり みゆき award

A children's novel about a withdrawn boy and a child displaced by the Great East Japan Earthquake. Their uneasy life together gradually becomes a story of grief, trust, and friendship.

Two wounded boys begin to understand each other through an awkward shared life.

224 pages
memorylanguagehuman relationships
阪口正博 さかぐち まさひろ award

A children's novel about a boy who transfers to a new school and gradually finds a place for himself through a year spent with seven classmates. It portrays how friendship, first love, and a sense of home can grow even in a brief span of time.

A year with seven classmates helps a boy discover a new place to call home.

165 pages
transfer studentsfriendshiphomecoming of agechildren's literature
No winner
No winner
河野佳子 こうの かこ award

二メートル is a 児童文学作品 by 河野佳子. As an award-recognized work, it concentrates the author's concerns and explores its subject through a distinctive style.

二メートル condenses the author's central concerns behind its brief title.

memorylanguagerelationships
No winner
若本恵二 わかもと けいじ award

時の扉をくぐり, by 若本恵二, is an award-recognized work. It follows the movement of its characters’ minds and surrounding world, drawing out the conflict and change behind its concise title.

時の扉をくぐり, by 若本恵二, is an award-recognized work.

charactersconflictchange
島田三郎 しまだ さぶろう award

The prize work Shojoji no Midopan Kozo was published under the title Midopan Kyosokyoku. It follows fifth-grader Shunpeita as he meets Takuto, a boy who has lost his sight, and the two change through training and running a road race together.

Running side by side slowly changes the distance and hearts of the boys.

197 pages
children's literaturerunning guidevisual impairmentfriendshipgrowth
No winner
Yuki Ando あんどう ゆき award

A children's literary work by Yuki Ando. It is recorded as an award-winning work, but no evidence of a standalone print book was found, and public information about the work itself is limited.

An award-recorded children's literary work whose title suggests contact with adolescent feeling.

children's literatureadolescenceemotionrelationships
Kaori Komori こもり かおり award

"ニコルの塔" is an award-winning work by 小森香折. It draws readers into its world through shifting emotions, relationships, and the atmosphere surrounding its characters.

ニコルの塔 became more widely known through its award recognition.

human relationshipsmemoryordinary and extraordinary life
No winner
No winner
Yuki Ando あんどう ゆき award

A children's literary work by Yuki Ando, turning moments when the world opens from a child's perspective into a story of everyday life and growth.

世界のはじまるところ

children's literaturegrowthdiscovery
寺尾幸子 てらお さちこ award

"バックホーム" is a work by 寺尾幸子. It is recognized in the context of its award field, including literature, criticism, children's writing, mystery, or related genres.

"バックホーム" is an award-winning work that reflects 寺尾幸子's distinctive approach.

44 pages
award-winning workliteratureauthorial style