The 5th Kyoto Literature Award
Call for Entries and Application Guidelines
1. Requirements●A novel on the theme of “Kyoto.” Any literary genres such as polite literature, historicalfiction, mystery, are acceptable.
●The novel must be original, unpublished, and written in Japanese language only. **However, any works that have been posted on the internet, or released in a self-publishedmagazine (dojinshi) or as a self-published book are acceptable unless they have been
published for a commercial purpose. In such a case, refer to the name of the medium wherethe work has been posted/released.
●We do not accept any works that have already been applied to other competitions or received
other awards or prizes.
●The submitted work must not infringe on copyright or any other rights/profits of the thirdparties.
●Specify the sources when citing or referencing.
<Guidelines for the use of Generative AI (Artificial Intelligence) >A general process of writing a novel includes “getting ideas,” “plotting,” “writing drafts,”
and “elaborating,” and the use of Generative AI in the “writing drafts” and “elaborating”
stages is prohibited. (except in cases where there are objective and rational reasons such as
expressing words by Generative AI that appears in the work.)
In principle, using the outcomes by Generative AI in “plotting” process and others as youroriginal is not permitted. Please use them for reference only.

2.Categories andQualification●There are three categories for Awards such as” General,” “Junior High School and HighSchool Students,” and “Overseas,” and applicants can either be professionals or amateurs. We
call for entries from all over Japan and the world.
●Category “General” is targeted at applicants of any age and nationality; under high school
students and foreign nationals are eligible.
●Category “Junior High School and High School Students” is targeted at those who are bornafter April 2, 2006.
●Category “Overseas” is targeted at international students or writers with foreign
nationalities.

3. Volume andFormat●Volume (excluding the number of letters of furigana, notes, and a bibliography)
Category “General”: *Handwriting manuscripts are not allowed for this category.
- The total length should be over 28,000 letters up to 160,000 letters.
Category“Junior High and High School Students”: *Handwriting manuscripts are also
accepted.
- The total length for handwriting manuscripts should be over 20 pages up to 150 pages of400-letter Japanese manuscript paper.
- The total length for typescripts should be over 8,000 letters up to 60,000 letters*, whichis equivalent to over 20 pages up to 150 pages of 400-letter Japanese manuscript paper.
*Use the format (30 letters x 40 lines) as designated in the “Format” section below.
Category “Overseas”: *Handwriting manuscripts are not allowed for this category.
- The total length should be over 8,000 letters up to 60,000 letters.

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●Format- A typescript should be:1) on A4-sized and horizontally long paper without any gauzes
2) 30 letters x 40 lines per page3) written vertically*The template is available on the official website.
-A handwriting manuscript should be:1) on A4-sized and horizontally long 400-letter Japanese manuscript paper2) written vertically*Handwriting manuscripts are accepted only for the Category “Junior High and High SchoolStudents.”*Do not use pencils or erasable ballpoint pens. Please write clearly and make yourmanuscript readable.
*Check typos, misspellings, etc. before submitting your work.
Note 1: Insert a page number at the bottom left on each page. If you send your work by post,bind it with a clip at the top right corner. (Do not staple it.)
Note 2: In case the works applied for the categories of “Junior High and High SchoolStudents” and “Overseas” fulfill the criteria defined for the category “General” and they
are shortlisted for the final selection, there may be a possibility that we select them as one of
the candidates in the category “General” in accordance with the opinions voiced by the final
screening committee members.

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4. How to Apply●You can submit your work in a digital format via https://kyotobungakusyo.com/ or by post.
- If you apply on the website, fill in the application form and submit it with your work and“Page 1” including a synopsis etc. attached. Your work should be in a digital format such asa Microsoft Word file or a PDF file.
- If you submit your work by post, attach the “Page 1” to “Page 3” as indicated below on thetop of your work.
[Page 1 -3 (information required to fill in)] *You can download the forms from the website.
Page 1
1. Category that you apply for*If you apply for the Category “Junior High and High School Students,indicate your date of birth, and if you apply for the Category “Overseas,”indicate your nationality.
2. Title of your work
3. A synopsis (within 800 letters)
Page 2

1. Pen Name with furigana *If you do not have a pen name, write yourbirth name.
2. Genre (Literary, Mystery, Horror, Science Fiction, Fantasy, History,Epic, Young Adult, Romantic, and others)*Choose the most relevant genre to your work. Try not to choose“others” as much as possible.
3. Total Number of Letters (if you apply in the Category of “Junior Highand High School Students,” indicate the total number of pages of 400letter Japanese manuscript paper.)4. Short Biography including your history of education, career, and writing
5. Date of Birth (in the Gregorian calendar) *optional for applicants for
the Category “General” and “Overseas”
6. If your submitted work has already been posted or released somewhere,
indicate URL or a name of the medium where the work has beenreleased.

Page 31.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Full Name (with furigana)
Address
Phone Number
Email Address
Gender (optional)
Occupation (optional)
Questionnaire on Kyoto Literature Award (optional)

Note: Make sure that you send us a synopsis and indicate the total number of letters of yourwork as requested above.
5. Due date

20:00 (JST) on Friday, May 9, 2025, for a digital submission*Submission by post can be accepted if postmarked on May 9, 2025, or before

6. Final
Screening
Committee
Members

ISHII Shinji (writer), NISHI Kanako (writer), MENJO Tsuyoshi (writer/ literary critic), andrepresentatives of the selected general readers, etc.

37. Award
Description

8. Screening
Schedule andAnnouncement

Category “General”:
The First Prize will be given for one novel with a cash of one million yen. The awarded novel
will be commercially published.
The Second Prize will be given to one novel with a cash of 500,000 yen.
Category “Junior High and High School Students”:
The First Prize will be given for one novel with a book voucher equivalent of 100,000 yen.
The Second Prize will be given for one novel with a book voucher equivalent of 50,000 yen.
Category “Overseas”:
The First Prize will be given for one novel with a cash of 100,000 yen.
All Categories:
Selected General Readers’ Committee Award will be given for one novel (without anysupplementary prizes)
Note: Additional awards may be given to some other works following discussions at the finalscreening.
The first screening:
The result will be announced on the official website in late July 2025.
The second screening:
The result will be released on the website in late September 2025.
Note: At a later date, brief comments on the non-selected works will be posted on the website.
The final screening:
The results will be directly notified to the winners, and the result and comments will beposted on the website from around December 2025 to January 2026.

9. Awards
Ceremony &Party
10. Copyrights

January 2026 (To be determined)
The ceremony will be held at a venue in Kyoto City. Winners, screening committee members,etc. will be invited for celebration.
●A copyright of the submitted work belongs to each applicant.
●The synopsis of the awarded work or excerpts may be cited on the host’s website, innewspapers or any other publications.
●The awardee, who has the copyright of the awarded work, can decide on a publisher. During
the publisher selection, interested collaborating publishers will give proposals and Kyoto
Literature Award Executive Committee can give some advice to the awardee, and theorganizer will support the process.
●Within the scope necessary for screening and recording, the host may make some copies ofthe submitted works.

11. Remarks●Submission is limited to one work per applicant.
●We do not accept any revisions to a work or request of returning the work once it has been
submitted. Those who need a copy should make a copy in advance.
●We do not respond to any inquiries about the screening process.
●Any personal information obtained through the application will not be used for any otherpurposes than those related to this Award.

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