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Tokyo Nakano Literary Award

とうきょうなかのぶんがくしょう

Public novel literary award open to professionals and amateurs alike

Novel
Established
2022
Organizer
Nakano City Tourism Association (General Incorporated Association), Tokyo Nakano Literary Award Executive Committee
Category
General Fiction and Popular Fiction
Selection Method
Open call
Target
Open
Frequency
Every two years
Application Deadline
around August
Announcement Period
around March
Status
Active

Description

The Tokyo Nakano Literary Award is a public novel literary award sponsored by the General Incorporated Association Nakano Ward Tourism Association and the Tokyo Nakano Literary Award Executive Committee. It accepts submissions from professionals and amateurs regardless of background, and considers stage, film, and anime adaptations of winning works in line with the characteristics of Nakano Ward. The 1st edition was held in 2022 under the former name Tokyo Nakano Monogatari 2022 Literary Award. It provides support for e-book publication and single-volume book publication of winning works.

Selection

Selection Process

First round
Judges
Second round
Judges
Final round
Judges Kyoko Nakajima (writer), Tetsuo Shinohara (film director), Tadashi Onizuka (novelist/writer agent), Shoko Nakagawa (singer/talent, 1st round), Kenji Otsuki (rock musician/writer, 2nd round)

Related Awards

  • Japanese literary awards

Official Resources

https://nakano-story.jp/

Past Winners

Keisuke Hada はねだ けいすけ grand prize / crowdfunding award
ふるたみゆき ふるた みゆき honorable mention
六ッ川和泉 むつかわ いずみ honorable mention
宮本直樹 みやもと なおき Nakano ward award
Koichiro Hara はら こういちろう grand prize

The grand-prize winner of the Tokyo Nakano Literary Award. It is a novel that traces the lingering scent of memory and relationships through the image of regret and flowers.

Regret blooms quietly, like a flower, after the fact.

fictionmemoryregretNakanorelationships
菊一馬絽 きくいち まろ honorable mention

A runner-up piece that uses the imagery of shrines and purification to search for fear and salvation. Set in a fantastical stage, it tries to touch what does not disappear.

It borrows the language of exorcism to touch what remains.

fictionshrinepurificationfolklorefantasy
大塚雅美 おおつか まさみ honorable mention

A runner-up piece that depicts the feeling of stepping into a new life alongside the warmth of relationships and the touch of the body.

A new life slowly begins to touch the body.

fictionlifebodyyouthrestarting
北森春土 きたもり はると Nakano ward award

A novel in which a single perspective gradually loosens through the quiet hours of waiting for the first train. The stillness of the station becomes the story’s entrance.

At five in the morning, a story begins at a station where no one is yet waiting.

fictionmorningstationtimecommuting
高城つかさ たかぎ つかさ director special prize

A novel that listens closely to small everyday sounds while drawing human presence and seasonal changes. Quiet listening carries the story forward.

The more closely you listen, the more faintly the world trembles.

fictionsoundeveryday lifesensesseasons