Japanese Literary Awards

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Watanabe Junichi Literary Award

わたなべじゅんいちぶんがくしょう

Literary award honoring the achievements of Junichi Watanabe, targeting novel works written in Japanese.

Pure literaturePopular literature
Established
2016
Organizer
Shueisha, Ichitsubashi Sogo Foundation
Category
General Fiction and Popular Fiction
Selection Method
Open call
Target
Professional
Frequency
1 per year
Announcement Period
around April–May
Status
Active

Description

Sponsored by Shueisha Co., Ltd. and Ichitsubashi Sogo Foundation, this award recognizes Japanese novel works with rich narrative that delves deeply into human psychology, transcending the boundaries of pure and popular literature. The first edition was held in 2016, with winners receiving a commemorative item as the main prize and 2 million yen as a special prize. Winning works are published in the magazines 'Subaru' and 'Shosetsu Subaru'.

Prize

Main Prize
Commemorative item (main prize)
Cash Prize
2,000,000 JPY

Selection

Selection Process

Final selection
Judges Judges (e.g., Jiro Asada, Mariiko Koike, Nobuko Takagi, Teruyuki Miyamoto, etc.)
Announcement Results announced in 'Subaru' and 'Shosetsu Subaru'

Criteria

  • Narrative that delves deeply into human psychology
  • Works transcending pure and popular literature
  • Japanese novel single volumes and unpublished paperbacks

Related Awards

  • List of literary awards

Official Resources

https://www.shueisha.co.jp/info/watanabe.pdf

Past Winners