ENEOS Fairy Tale Award

えねおすどうわしょう

An ENEOS group fairy-tale award that invited original stories on the theme of human connection in general, junior-high, and elementary-or-younger divisions; it ended after the 53rd edition.

Fairy taleChildren's literatureCreative fairy taleGeneral divisionJunior high school divisionElementary school and younger division

Established: 1970
Organizer: ENEOS Holdings
Category: Children's Literature, Fairy Tales, and Picture Books
Selection Method: Open call
Target: Open
Frequency: 1 per year
Application Deadline: around May
Announcement Period: around November
Status: Ended

Description

The ENEOS Fairy Tale Award was a public contest for original fairy tales organized by ENEOS Holdings (formerly Kyodo Petroleum / JOMO / JX / JXTG Holdings), themed on 'heart-to-heart connections'. It originated around 1970 (through name changes such as Kyodo Creative Fairy Tale Award), limited to unpublished original works. Entries were accepted annually from March to May, selections from June to October, winners announced at the November award ceremony, and the collection 'Bouquet of Fairy Tales' containing winning works published in December. Over its run, more than 400,000 entries were received, with 1,023 award-winning works, 743 of which included in 'Bouquet of Fairy Tales'. It ended with the 2022 edition due to a review of social contribution activities.

Prize

Main Prize: General category Grand Prize: 1 million yen (e.g., 2014, 45th edition). Excellence Award 300,000 yen, Honorable Mention 100,000 yen. Junior high and elementary school categories: Book vouchers etc. (Grand Prize 100,000 yen worth, Excellence Award 50,000 yen worth, Honorable Mention 30,000 yen worth).
Cash Prize: 1,000,000 JPY

General category: Excellence Award 300,000 yen, Honorable Mention 100,000 yen (varies by edition)
Junior high and elementary categories: Book vouchers etc. (Grand Prize 100,000 yen worth, Excellence Award 50,000 yen worth, Honorable Mention 30,000 yen worth)
Winning works published in 'Bouquet of Fairy Tales'
Invitation to award ceremony; latest issue of 'Bouquet of Fairy Tales' presented to all entrants as participation prize

Selection

Selection Process

Stage	Judges	Pass Rate	Announcement
Entry reception (recruitment)	Eligibility: Amateurs (unpublished original works)	—	Accepted by mail and internet (March to May)
Selection (preliminary to final)	Judging committee (e.g., Torisuke Nishimoto, Erika Tachihara, Eiko Kadono, Takae Nakai, Tatsuya Miyanishi, Kumiko Kaoru, etc.)	—	Review by judging committee (June to October)
Winner announcement and award ceremony	Judging committee	—	Announced at award ceremony; published on official site or press release (November)
Publication and distribution		—	Publication and distribution of 'Bouquet of Fairy Tales' containing winning works (December)

Entry reception (recruitment)

Judges Eligibility: Amateurs (unpublished original works)

Announcement Accepted by mail and internet (March to May)

Selection (preliminary to final)

Judges Judging committee (e.g., Torisuke Nishimoto, Erika Tachihara, Eiko Kadono, Takae Nakai, Tatsuya Miyanishi, Kumiko Kaoru, etc.)

Announcement Review by judging committee (June to October)

Winner announcement and award ceremony

Judges Judging committee

Announcement Announced at award ceremony; published on official site or press release (November)

Publication and distribution

Judges

Announcement Publication and distribution of 'Bouquet of Fairy Tales' containing winning works (December)

Criteria

Adherence to the theme: 'heart-to-heart connections'
Must be an unpublished original work
Amateurs only (no collaborations or joint submissions)
Specified format: Vertical writing on up to 5 sheets of 400-character manuscript paper (word processor: up to 20 characters x 20 lines equivalent to 5 sheets)
Appropriate expression and structure for children