Literary award · Japan · since 1994

Dengeki Novel Prize

Japanese literary award. Established 1994.

About Dengeki Novel Prize

The Dengeki Novel Prize (Japanese: 電撃小説大賞, Hepburn: Dengeki Shōsetsu Taishō) is a Japanese literary award handed out annually (since 1994) by the Japanese publisher ASCII Media Works (formerly MediaWorks) for their Dengeki Bunko light novel imprint. The contest has discovered many popular and successful light novelists, like Kouhei Kadono and Yashichiro Takahashi. Originally called the Dengeki Game Novel Prize, the name was changed in 2003. The main Dengeki Novel Prize awards consist of the Grand Prize (¥3 million), Gold Prize (¥1 million) and Silver Prize (¥500,000). In addition to the money received, the winning novelists get their work published under Dengeki Bunko with the addition of an artist for the illustrated aspects of the light novels.

From the Wikipedia article “Dengeki Novel Prize”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Recent winners

YearWinnerWinning work
2021The Kept Man of the Princess Knight—
2020Your Forma—
2019The Many Sides of Voice Actor Radio—
2013Chiaki Kisaki—
2010Shirokuro Nekuro—
2006Mimizuku to Yoru no Ō—
2005Orusu Banshee—
—Kei Shunme—
—Kotei Kobayashi—

From Wikidata; the list may be incomplete for some years.

Eligibility and entering

Check the official rules of the Dengeki Novel Prize for the current eligibility window, accepted formats, residency or language requirements and any entry fee. For most established prizes the publisher submits on the author's behalf, often with a limit on entries per imprint.

If you are self-published, look for an explicit statement that independently published books are accepted, and budget for entry fees and copies for judges.

Sources & data