Japanese Literary Awards

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Roman Grand Award

ろまんたいしょう

Light novel literary award sponsored by Shueisha.

Light novelLiterature
Established
1992
Organizer
Shueisha
Category
Light Novels and Web Literature
Selection Method
Open call
Target
Newcomer
Frequency
1 per year
Application Deadline
around January
Announcement Period
around August–September
Status
Ended

Description

Light novel literary award sponsored and openly called for submissions by Shueisha from 1992 to 2014. Held as Fantasy Roman Grand Award from 1992 to 1995, renamed Roman Grand Award from 1996. Grand Prize winners receive the principal trophy and prize money of 1,000,000 yen; Honorable Mention winners receive the principal trophy and prize money of 500,000 yen. Selected works were published in Cobalt Bunko, Super Fantasy Bunko, Super Dash Bunko, and others.

Prize

Main Prize
Principal trophy (shield)
Cash Prize
1,000,000 JPY
  • Honorable Mention: principal trophy and prize money of 500,000 yen
  • Selected works published in Cobalt Bunko, Super Fantasy Bunko, Super Dash Bunko, etc.

Application Tips

Dos

  • Submit an unpublished long novel written in Japanese
  • Comply with the submission requirements (250–350 sheets of 400-character vertical manuscript paper)
  • Word processor manuscripts are acceptable, so submit in an easy-to-read format

Don''ts

  • Do not submit already published works
  • Do not exceed the specified page count
  • Do not submit works that do not meet the eligibility criteria

Related Awards

  • Novel Grand Prize
  • Cobalt Bunko

Official Resources

http://cobalt.shueisha.co.jp/award/

Past Winners

Nanako Tsujimura つじむら ななこ grand prize

時泥棒と椿姫の夢 is an award-winning work by 辻村七子 recognized by the ロマン大賞. The bibliographic identifiers were checked at the work level from the title and author information.

時泥棒と椿姫の夢 by 辻村七子 was recognized by the ロマン大賞.

award-winning workcontemporary literaturebibliographic record
Ichihara Miu いちはら みう grand prize

Romanov Grand Duchess: The Tsar’s Love Letter is a historical romance set in the eighteenth-century Russian court. The engagement of Grand Duchess Anna draws together love and political conflict around Peter the Great and the tutor Maria.

Behind the glitter of the Russian court, a love letter unsettles history.

304 pages
historical romanceRussian courtPeter the Greatgrand duchesspolitical intrigue
Yuki Kominato こみなと ゆうき honorable mention

Scarlet Bird: A Rose Blooming in the Sky is a fantasy-tinged romance from the Cobalt Bunko line. Within vivid images of sky and roses, a girl’s love and destiny intertwine with rank, constraint, and the rules of her world.

Like a rose blooming in the sky, love and destiny open vividly.

288 pages
romancefantasygirls’ fictiondestinyCobalt Bunko
Kouko Shirakawa しらかわ こんこ grand prize

嘘つきな五月女王 is an award-related work by 白川紺子. It can be introduced through its subject, setting, and the emotional movement of its characters, with bibliographic identifiers recorded only when a standalone book edition could be confirmed.

嘘つきな五月女王 offers a concise entry point into the work's setting and concerns.

少女小説新人賞改題改稿
希多美咲 きた みさき grand prize

月下浮世奇談 is an award-related work by 希多美咲. It can be introduced through its subject, setting, and the emotional movement of its characters, with bibliographic identifiers recorded only when a standalone book edition could be confirmed.

月下浮世奇談 offers a concise entry point into the work's setting and concerns.

少女小説新人賞改題改稿
藍川竜樹 あいかわ りゅうき grand prize

A Heian-period supernatural comedy about a girl who serves as an onmyoji while disguised as a man. It lightly combines courtly apparitions, apprenticeship, and romance.

ひみつの陰陽師 is an award-recognized work that follows its subject through 藍川竜樹's distinct perspective.

304 pages
Heian periodonmyojilight novel
はるおかりの はるおか りの grand prize

A Chinese-inspired court romance about a king scarred by a cursed birth and a beautiful bride brought into the inner palace through a political marriage. Amid palace schemes, the story traces how two isolated people learn to trust one another.

In a palace full of traps, affection begins to reach a closed heart.

272 pages
inner palacepolitical marriageChinese-inspired romancedevotion
湊ようこ みなと ようこ grand prize

A romance about a political marriage between the cold emperor known as the Ice and Snow King and Iris, a provincial count's daughter chosen as empress. Their relationship shifts painfully within a structure that feels like a retelling of history.

A late spring comes to the frozen heart of a king.

272 pages
political marriageking and empresstragic lovehistorical romance
Wadori Ayako わとり あやこ honorable mention

“最後のひとりが死に絶えるまで” is a 2009 award-winning work by 我鳥彩子. Bibliographic identifiers are limited to editions that can be confirmed as a standalone book, paperback, or collection, and identifiers for magazine issues are not used.

“最後のひとりが死に絶えるまで” is an important work in the record of 我鳥彩子’s award recognition.

award-winning workcontemporary literature2009
Akiko Abe あべ あきこ grand prize

A youth novel about young people carrying feelings that do not easily end. As the original form of a later debut work, it centers on friendship, dreams, and parting.

A youth novel about young people carrying feelings that do not easily end.

youthfriendshipdreamsparting
みなづき志生 みなづき しお grand prize

A fantasy set in a place suggestive of another world, portraying relations between monsters and humans. Adventure and romance combine as a story of growth.

A fantasy set in a place suggestive of another world, portraying relations between monsters and humans.

fantasymonstersadventureromance
Izumi Natsuno なつの いずみ grand prize

A Cobalt Bunko work published as a romantic story around an island and a prince. As its dreamy title suggests, it carries the atmosphere of sleep, an island setting, and young romance.

On a sleeping island, a romance around a prince begins to move.

256 pages
islandromanceprince
Hizuki Yu ひずき ゆう grand prize

Mitsuha, a high school girl uneasy with superficial friendships, is drawn to her isolated classmate Kiryu. A dangerous rumor and a stranger’s words push her to search for something she can trust.

Among false relationships, she searches for a place she can believe in.

256 pages
school lifetrustloneliness
Makoto Sakitani さきたに まこと honorable mention

The death god Thor is ordered to reincarnate the soul of Shiru, a soldier who remains on earth after death. Once known as the legendary demon of Iklaina, Shiru travels toward the country where his beloved daughter lives.

A death god and the soul of a demon set out to sever lingering attachments.

240 pages
death godreincarnationadventure
神埜明美 かみの あけみ honorable mention

ジュリエットと紅茶を ようこそ、呪殺屋本舗へ is a literary work by 神埜明美. It centers on the situation suggested by its title and presents its characters through a focused, award-winning narrative.

ジュリエットと紅茶を ようこそ、呪殺屋本舗へ is an award-recognized work by 神埜明美.

253 pages
award-winning workhuman relationshipstime and place
広瀬晶 ひろせ あきら honorable mention

A Cobalt Bunko novel set in an imagined kingdom, following young characters as their encounters alter the course of their lives. Published from the prize-winning manuscript, it blends courtly intrigue with the emotional momentum of girls' fiction.

The choices of young people drawn into the kingdom's spiral quietly set the story in motion.

305 pages
kingdom fantasyfategirls' fictioncourt politics
Natsu Tomogiri ともきり なつ honorable mention

A lyrical mystery published under a new title after winning under Girls Review Stay. It traces girls' time, memory, and shifting relationships through the striking image of white flowers falling.

In a time filled with falling white flowers, the girls' secrets and hurt slowly take shape.

304 pages
girlsmemorymysteryloss
中村幌 なかむら ほろ honorable mention

A fantasy novel for young readers that begins when Princess Claudia seeks help. Built around adventure and shifting relationships, it moves with the light pace of a girls' paperback imprint.

A princess's plea opens a story of adventure and growth.

256 pages
girls' fictionfantasyadventureprincessgrowth
小林フユヒ こばやし ふゆひ honorable mention

An honorable mention in the Roman Grand Award for which no standalone book publication could be confirmed. The title and author are recorded in award information, but no paperback or book identifiers were found in Amazon JP, NDL, or publisher sources.

An award-recognized work with no confirmed standalone book edition.

girls' fictionliterary contestunconfirmed publicationRoman Grand Award
杉江久美子 すぎえ くみこ grand prize

Set in a near future marked by pollution and rising crime, this light novel follows Ibuki, a junior high school student who can see what others cannot, as he confronts the truth about his power and the so-called new generation. Supernatural ability, urban unease, and self-discovery drive the story.

A boy with visionary powers is forced to ask what he truly is.

272 pages
near futuresupernatural abilitypollutionself-discoverynew generation
Fuyuki Kudou くどう ふゆき honorable mention

A Roman Grand Award work retitled Party no Sono Mae ni on publication. Centered on the tremor before a glamorous gathering, it depicts young characters' expectations, anxieties, and changing relationships.

In the time before the party, unspoken feelings begin to move.

girls' fictionpartyromanceexpectationanxiety
Haru Kurase くらせ はる honorable mention

A Cobalt Bunko novel set ten years after an accident at a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in the Ryusen district. Taro, who lost his parents and hometown, meets a woman photographer pursuing a phantom butterfly and confronts memory, loss, and hope.

A phantom butterfly over a lost hometown awakens a boy's prayer.

244 pages
girls' fictionnuclear accidentlossbutterflyhope
Chiaki Sato さとう ちあき honorable mention

花雪小雪 is a light novel by 佐藤 ちあき. It focuses on 舞姫をめぐる華やかさと葛藤を、ロマンティックな物語として描く。

花雪小雪 uses the world suggested by its title to bring people and their times into quiet focus.

315 pages
memorysocietyrelationships
Washida Seitou わしだ せいとう honorable mention

つばさ is a light novel by 鷲田 旌刀. It focuses on 翼という象徴に託して、自由や成長への憧れを描く青春ロマン。

つばさ uses the world suggested by its title to bring people and their times into quiet focus.

272 pages
memorysocietyrelationships
渡瀬桂子 わたせ けいこ honorable mention

魂守記-枯骨報恩- is a work by 渡瀬桂子. 幻想性のある物語世界で、恩義、死者、魂のつながりを描くライトノベル系の作品。和風伝奇の気配を帯びています。

魂守記-枯骨報恩- centers on 和風幻想 and presents its characters through a distinctive literary frame.

和風幻想報恩
中井由希恵 なかい ゆきえ honorable mention

ミューズに抱かれて is a work by 中井由希恵. 芸術や創作への憧れを背景に、人の心を動かす美と恋愛感情を描くロマン小説。感性の揺れを中心にした作品です。

ミューズに抱かれて centers on 恋愛 and presents its characters through a distinctive literary frame.

恋愛芸術感性
霜越かほる しもごし かほる grand prize

高天原なリアル is a work by 下越かほる. It presents its subject through a focused literary frame, drawing out the emotional and social tensions suggested by the Japanese description.

高天原なリアル uses 神話 as an entry point into human feeling and the atmosphere of its time.

神話現代少女小説幻想
さくまゆうこ さくま ゆうこ honorable mention

1st フレンド is a work by 佐久間佑子. It presents its subject through a focused literary frame, drawing out the emotional and social tensions suggested by the Japanese description.

1st フレンド uses 友情 as an entry point into human feeling and the atmosphere of its time.

友情少女小説初めて成長
久和まり くわ まり grand prize

冬の日の幻想 is a work by 久和まり. Recognized by the ロマン大賞, it reflects the author's concerns and the literary context around the work.

A work recognized by the ロマン大賞, showing 久和まり's distinctive voice.

240 pages
literatureaward-winning work
Shiuko Mouri もうり しおこ grand prize

カナリア・ファイル 金蚕蠱 is an award-recognized work by 毛利志生子. It leads readers toward the concerns suggested by its title through people, period, society, and memory.

カナリア・ファイル 金蚕蠱 is a work by 毛利志生子 that continues to be read through its award recognition.

award-recognized worksocietymemorypeople
Mizue Tani たに みずえ honorable mention

パラダイス・ルネッサンス 楽園再生 is an award-recognized work by 谷瑞恵. It leads readers toward the concerns suggested by its title through people, period, society, and memory.

パラダイス・ルネッサンス 楽園再生 is a work by 谷瑞恵 that continues to be read through its award recognition.

award-recognized worksocietymemorypeople
Yuuki Oginome おぎのめ ゆうき grand prize

シインの毒 is a work by 荻野目悠樹 associated with the ロマン大賞. It can be read as a work that follows its subject through people, time, place, and memory.

Under the title シインの毒, the work foregrounds 荻野目悠樹's engagement with its subject.

300 pages
award-winning workロマン大賞people and timememory
弓原望 ゆみはら のぞみ honorable mention

マリオ・ボーイの逆説 is a work by 弓原望 associated with the ロマン大賞. It can be read as a work that follows its subject through people, time, place, and memory.

Under the title マリオ・ボーイの逆説, the work foregrounds 弓原望's engagement with its subject.

278 pages
award-winning workロマン大賞people and timememory
Kurina Kobayashi こばやし りな honorable mention

海のアリーズ is a 文学作品 by 小林栗奈. It is known as a 1995 award-recognized work and can be introduced through its title, genre, and authorial context.

A work that conveys 小林栗奈's style through the world suggested by the title 海のアリーズ.

214 pages
文学作品award-recognized work1995
柴田明美 しばた あけみ honorable mention

聚まるは永遠の大地 is a 文学作品 by 柴田明美. It is known as a 1995 award-recognized work and can be introduced through its title, genre, and authorial context.

A work that conveys 柴田明美's style through the world suggested by the title 聚まるは永遠の大地.

204 pages
文学作品award-recognized work1995
Akihiko Ureshino うれしの あきひこ grand prize

A romantic fantasy set in a Chinese-inspired world, using images of moonlight and a white tiger to frame characters facing fate.

皓月に白き虎の啼く uses ファンタジー as an entry point into human emotion.

252 pages
ファンタジー中華風世界運命情念
一条理希 いちじょう りき honorable mention

An entertainment novel driven by growing suspicion and anxiety, with a title that reflects a destabilized sense of reality.

パラノイア7 uses サスペンス as an entry point into human emotion.

サスペンス疑念心理不安
Kyo Fujiwara ふじわら きょう grand prize

龍王の淡海(うみ) is a literary work by 藤原京. Against the atmosphere of its time and place, it portrays relationships, memory, and the weight of choice.

龍王の淡海(うみ) is an award-winning work that concentrates 藤原京’s style and central concerns.

literaturerelationshipsmemory
Hirofumi Tanaka たなか けいぶん honorable mention

凶の剣士 is a literary work by 田中啓文. Against the atmosphere of its time and place, it portrays relationships, memory, and the weight of choice.

凶の剣士 is an award-winning work that concentrates 田中啓文’s style and central concerns.

literaturerelationshipsmemory
矢彦澤典子 やひこざわ のりこ grand prize

A fantasy set in a new village born after the ice and snow around Mount Tenko suddenly melted. It combines the flavor of Shueisha Super Fantasy Bunko with an atmosphere close to local legend.

At the foot of an icy mountain, a sealed time begins to move.

253 pages
fantasymountainslegendfate
青木弓高 あおき ゆみたか honorable mention

A fantasy war tale built around beauty, charismatic figures, and an inner demonic force. Its vivid cast and ominous movement of power give it the entertainment value associated with the Roman Grand Award's honorable mentions.

Beauty and the demonic move this tale of conflict in a darkly alluring direction.

264 pages
fantasywar talebeautydemonic power