Japanese Literary Awards

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Dengeki Novel Grand Prize でんげきしょうせつたいしょう

Edition 21 (2014)

Light novelNewcomer literary award

Winners

8 people
Hatomi Suta grand prize

In the age called After, when every piece of land has sunk beneath the sea, fourteen-year-old Aki crosses the ocean as a messenger aboard the Pallas, the boat left to her by her parents. When a White Storm destroys her vessel and strands her on an isolated floating island, she and her parrot frog companion face a harsh fight to survive.

In a world with nothing but blue sea, Aki searches for a course toward survival even after losing her boat.

344 pages
ocean adventuresurvivalcoming of agefriendshiploss and hope
新田周右 grand prize

On Kamiyo Island, where the craft of transforming mysterious cubic hōseki stones into ornaments flourishes, seventeen-year-old craftsman Eisuke Hakudō repairs hōseki and takes in the cursed stones known as maseki, which lead people astray. When he investigates a series of hōseki thefts, he draws closer to a truth connected to his young lodger, Yoko Kurosu.

A contemporary fantasy mystery in which a young craftsman confronts the secrets of an island and its hōseki stones, objects that enchant people and can also drive them mad.

338 pages
contemporary fantasycursed stonescraftsmanshiptheft investigationisland mysteries
うわみくるま gold prize

At a school ruled by destiny, a transfer student arrives every Monday and delivers a prophecy before the entire student body. When Shiina predicts that Satsuki Jun will become student council president within the month, he is elated. But the current president, Yumi Igarashi, and her allies try to stop the prediction, drawing Jun into a turbulent struggle over the future he believes has been promised to him.

A lively school comedy about a boy convinced that destiny favors him and a student council determined to resist his prophecy.

312 pages
school comedyprophecydestinystudent counciltransfer students
森日向 silver prize

In a world shared by humans and beastfolk, Shin was once saved by Kazura, a fox rhetorician, and now travels as a rhetorician who uses words to overcome difficult situations. His encounter with Rea, the young leader of a wolf clan, draws him into an inter-clan conflict and the conspiracy behind it in this fantasy of rhetoric.

Their trump card is rhetoric: a kind-hearted sophisticate and his fox mentor face difficult situations with words.

370 pages
language and negotiationhumans and beastfolkinter-clan conflicta mentor-and-student journeyconspiracy
蘇之一行 silver prize

Iori Sōda, a high-school student and aspiring manga artist, learns that Yuzuriha, the beautiful girl he meets in the hallway, is possessed by the "Manga God," a force that invites trouble. Through a creative slump, a reunion with his first love, and rivalry as an artist, Iori confronts the stories he wants to draw in this coming-of-age romantic comedy.

A trouble-filled youth story shared by a beautiful manga artist possessed by the Manga God and me.

328 pages
youthful artistic ambitioncreativity and creative blockfriendship and first loveromantic comedystorytelling
Juuzou Shiida silver prize

On a snowy Christmas Eve in Shibuya, an ordinary high-school student, Takasago, encounters his classmate Kaoru Ryoke giving a speech calling for people to renounce romance. After joining the Anti-Romantic Youth League, which regards love as an illusion, he and his friends set out to crush Valentine's Day, until a mysterious request that forces them to confront romance unsettles their daily lives.

"All romantic feelings are an illusion!" The Anti-Romantic Youth League steps into a commotion centered on love.

312 pages
YouthSkepticism about romanceSchool lifeRomantic comedyFriendship
Emi Kitagawa Media Works Bunko Award

Takashi Aoyama, worn down by exploitative work, is rescued at a station by a man who calls himself Yamamoto. With Yamamoto's support, Takashi gradually begins to reclaim his daily life, only to find a record of a person with that name who died after relentless overwork. This is a story of recovery that asks what it means to work and to live.

A life-affirming story for everyone who works.

258 pages
overworkrecoveryhuman connectionways of living
囲恭之介 Dengeki Bunko Magazine Award

The millennium city of Amorot enjoys peace and prosperity under Aegis, an invisible shield that prevents every wound and illness. When an impossible murder occurs, young inquisitor Berhelmina and the informant Kurikara investigate rumors of a Barrier Cracker capable of shattering the shield, drawing them toward truths hidden at the heart of their world.

A murder in a world where no one should be hurt begins to shake the order of a shielded city.

328 pages
A city protected by an invisible shieldAn inquisitor's investigationAn impossible murderFaith and the world's hidden truth