The is a literary award

Literary award

A literary award is an award presented to an author who has written a particularly lauded piece or body of work. There are awards for forms of writing ranging from poetry to novels. Many awards are also dedicated to a certain genre of fiction or non-fiction writing . There are also awards...

 handed out annually (since 1994) by the Japanese publisher ASCII Media Works

ASCII Media Works

is a Japanese publishing company in the Kadokawa Group which formed on April 1, 2008 as a result of a merger between ASCII and MediaWorks where MediaWorks legally absorbed ASCII. Despite this, the former president of ASCII, Kiyoshi Takano, became the president of ASCII Media Works. The company...

 (formerly MediaWorks

MediaWorks (publisher)

was a Japanese publishing company in the Kadokawa Group known for their brand magazines and book labels. These included such well-known magazines as Dengeki Daioh, and Dengeki G's Magazine, along with MediaWorks' main light novel publishing imprint Dengeki Bunko. The company was merged with ASCII...

) for their Dengeki Bunko

Dengeki Bunko

is a publishing imprint affiliated with the Japanese publishing company ASCII Media Works . It was established in June 1993 with the publication of Hyōryū Densetsu Crystania volume one, and is a light novel imprint aimed at a male audience...

 light novel

Light novel

A is a style of Japanese novel primarily targeting junior high and high school students . The term "light novel" is a wasei-eigo, or a Japanese term formed from words in the English language. Light novels are often called or for short...

 imprint. The contest has discovered many popular and successful light novelists, like Kouhei Kadono

Kouhei Kadono

is a Japanese author, best known for the Boogiepop series, which has also been adapted as a live action movie, two manga and an anime.- Biography :Born December 12, 1968, he graduated from Hosei University...

 and Yashichiro Takahashi

Yashichiro Takahashi

is a Japanese novelist best known for the creation of the Shakugan no Shana series. The Shakugan no Shana series was adapted into a radio drama, manga, anime, and a video game. In addition, it was adapted into a movie on April 21, 2007. Takahashi also made another series entitled A/B Extreme, which...

. Originally called the Dengeki Game Novel Prize, the name was changed in 2003. The main Dengeki Novel Prize awards consist of the Grand Prize (1 million yen), Gold Prize (500,000 yen) and Silver Prize (300,000 yen). 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. However, if an entry is awarded the Media Works Bunko Prize, the winning novel will be published under ASCII Media Works' Media Works Bunko

Media Works Bunko

is a publishing imprint affiliated with the Japanese publishing company ASCII Media Works. It was established on December 16, 2009 with the publication of eight novels, and is a mainstream novel imprint aimed at a general audience. The imprint is an extension of ASCII Media Works's Dengeki Bunko...

 imprint, along with the author winning 500,000 yen

Japanese yen

The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound sterling...

. Often, the name of the novel series is changed from what it was originally titled when it won the prize. There are over 4,500 submissions annually, and it is considered the largest prize for light novels.

Committee members

• Hitoshi Yasuda: Novelist, translator
• Mishio Fukazawa: Novelist
• Kyōichirō Takahata: Novelist
• Tatsuo Satō: The former board chairman of MediaWorks
  MediaWorks (publisher)
  was a Japanese publishing company in the Kadokawa Group known for their brand magazines and book labels. These included such well-known magazines as Dengeki Daioh, and Dengeki G's Magazine, along with MediaWorks' main light novel publishing imprint Dengeki Bunko. The company was merged with ASCII...
  
  
• Kazutomo Suzuki: The managing editor of Dengeki Bunko
  Dengeki Bunko
  is a publishing imprint affiliated with the Japanese publishing company ASCII Media Works . It was established in June 1993 with the publication of Hyōryū Densetsu Crystania volume one, and is a light novel imprint aimed at a male audience...
  
  

Prizes

Prizes	Awards
Grand Prize	￥ Japanese yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound sterling... 1 million
Gold Prize	￥500,000
Silver Prize	￥300,000
Media Works Bunko Prize	￥500,000
Dengeki Bunko Magazine Prize	￥200,000
Honorable Mention	￥50,000

Participant numbers

Year	Participants
1994	656
1995	566
1996	953
1997	869
1998	996
1999	1,326
2000	1,469
2001	1,647
2002	2,080
2003	2,015
2004	2,603
2005	3,022
2006	2,931
2007	2,943
2008	3,541
2009	4,602
2010	4,842
2011	5,293

Prize winners

#	Year	| Grand Prize	| Gold Prize	| Silver Prize	|
01	1994	Gorei Tōshi Ōki Den Gorei Tōshi Genrin! Hiroyuki Domon	Criss Cross: Konton no Maoh Kyoichiro Takahata	Bōken Phoniness Amurafi - Kaijin Doramu no Hiho Yuji Nakasato
				Kumo Yuki Ayashi, Ame ni Naran ya Ryosuke Tsubota
02	1995	Blackrod Hideyuki Furuhashi	Not awarded	Yamai wa Chikara: Special Man Naohiro Narishige
				Koseki Gakari no Yūutsu Ari Kayamoto
03	1996	Not awarded	Panzer Polis 1935 Minoru Kawakami	Horogram Seed Ayato Miyabi
			Naniwa Sōsinki Jiro Kurifu	Dark Eyes Saya Amo
04	1997	Boogiepop Boogiepop series The of Japanese light novels is written by Kouhei Kadono and illustrated by Kouji Ogata. It includes titles from different media, each connected by repeating characters and related plots... Kouhei Kadono Kouhei Kadono is a Japanese author, best known for the Boogiepop series, which has also been adapted as a live action movie, two manga and an anime.- Biography :Born December 12, 1968, he graduated from Hosei University...	Nekome Gari Tsumugu Hashimoto	Boku no Chi o Suwanaide Taro Achi
05	1998	Grand Prize	Gold Prize	Silver Prize	Honorable Mention
		Not awarded	Gakuen Bugeicho 'Tsuki ni Waraku Nobutaka Shirai	Called Gehenna Gakuto Mikumo Gakuto Mikumo ' is a light novelist from the Oita Prefecture in Japan. He studied the English language at Sophia University, where he graduated. In 1998 Mikumo won silver in the fifth Dengeki Novel Prize with his debut novel, Called Gehenna. He went on to win the Japan SF Rookie of the Year Award in 1999 with...	Tsuki to Anata ni Hanataba o Kazuya Shimura
					Gimmick Heart Jun Nanami
06	1999	Ringtail Kachi Ikusa no Kimi Muku Maruyama	Double Breed Erika Nakamura	Wakagusa Yakyubu Kyosokyoku Submarine Girl Ginga Isshiki	Not awarded
07	2000	Not awarded	Tengoku ni Namida wa Iranai Kei Sato	Wizard's Brain Reiichi Saegusa	Ōdo Rakuga Akihiko Odo
			Onmyo no Miyako Soichiro Watase Soichiro Watase , who was born in 1978, is a Japanese author from Yokohama city, Kanagawa prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Honshū, Japan. He made his debut with the novel in 2000, winning Gold in the 7th Dengeki Novel Prize...		Tenken Ohki Miwa Choshiro
08	2001	Daito Fūnki: Rakuyo no Shōjo Tosei Tamura	Not awarded	Akuma no Mikata Hisamitsu Ueo	A/B Extreme CASE-314 Emperor Yashichiro Takahashi Yashichiro Takahashi is a Japanese novelist best known for the creation of the Shakugan no Shana series. The Shakugan no Shana series was adapted into a radio drama, manga, anime, and a video game. In addition, it was adapted into a movie on April 21, 2007. Takahashi also made another series entitled A/B Extreme, which...
				Infinity Zero: Fuyu~white snow Mamizu Arisawa Mamizu Arisawa is a male Japanese light novelist from Tokyo, Japan. In 2001, Arisawa won the silver prize in the eighth installment of MediaWorks' Dengeki Novel Prize with his work Infinity Zero. Following this, the novel was published by MediaWorks under their Dengeki Bunko label, and three other volumes in the...	Kyuketsuki no Oshigoto: The Style of Vampires Suzu Suzuki
09	2002	Kiri: Shishatachi wa Koya ni Nemuru Yukako Kabei	Nanahime Monogatari Wataru Takano	Not awarded	Sharp Edge - stand on the edge Shinichi Sakairi
			Baccano! Baccano! is a Japanese light novel series written by Ryohgo Narita and illustrated by Katsumi Enami. The series, often told from multiple points of view, is mostly set within a fictional United States during various time periods, most notably the Prohibition-era. It focuses on various people, including... : The Rolling Bootlegs Ryohgo Narita Ryohgo Narita ' is a Japanese light novelist. He won the Gold Prize in the 9th Dengeki Novel Prize for Baccano!, which was made into a TV anime in 2007. His series Durarara!! was also made into a TV anime, which began airing January 2010....		Sylph Night Junichi Kamino
10	2003	Shio no Machi: Wish on My Precious Hiro Arikawa Hiro Arikawa is a female Japanese light novelist from Kōchi, Japan.-Biography:Hiro Arikawa won the tenth annual Dengeki Novel Prize for new writers for Shio no Machi: Wish on My Precious in 2003, and the book was published the following year. It was praised for its love story between a heroine and hero divided...	Wagaya no Oinari-sama. Wagaya no Oinari-sama. is a Japanese light novel series by Jin Shibamura, with illustrations by Eizō Hōden. The first novel was released on February 10, 2004, and as of October 10, 2007, seven volumes have been published by ASCII Media Works under their Dengeki Bunko imprint... Jin Shibamura	Sempai to Boku Masashi Okita	Kekkaishi no Fugue Hazuki Minase
					Shupuru no Ohanashi: Grandpa's Treasure Box Aki Amamiya
11	2004	Ruka: Rakuen no Torawarebitotachi Hirotaka Nanae	Hikari no Machi: nerim's note Masashi Hasegawa	Kiseki no Hyogen Mitsutaka Yuki	Serious Rage Toshiyuki Shirakawa
12	2005	Orusu Banshee Masatake Ogawa	Kanashimi Chimera Rei Rairaku	Spice and Wolf Spice and Wolf is a Japanese light novel series written by Isuna Hasekura, with illustrations by Jū Ayakura. ASCII Media Works published 17 novels between February 2006 and July 2011 under their Dengeki Bunko imprint. ASCII Media Works reported that as of October 2008, over 2.2 million copies of the first nine... Isuna Hasekura Isuna Hasekura is a Japanese author and student at Rikkyo University. In 2005, Hasekura won the Silver Prize in the twelfth Dengeki Novel Prize with his debut novel Spice and Wolf...	Tenshi no Recipe Makura Otogi
				Hime no Miko Hikaru Sugii Hikaru Sugii , born in 1978 in Tokyo, is a Japanese light novel author. In 2005, his debut work Hime no Miko won the Silver Prize at the 12th Dengeki Novel Prize.-Works:* Hime no Miko...
13	2006	Mimizuku to Yoru no Ō Izuki Kogyoku	Sekai Heiwa wa Ikka Danran no Ato ni Kazuya Hashimoto	Natsuki Fullswing: Ketsubatto Onna Warau Natsuki, Hideto Kido	Not awarded
			Tobira no Soto, Shinjiro Dobashi Shinjirō Dobashi
14	2007	Hōkago Hyakumonogatari Hirokazu Minemori	Kimi no Tame no Monogatari Marehito Mikagami	Ikai Nostalgia Kazuaki Sena	Hazakura ga Kita Natsu Kōji Natsumi
				Oshikake Ragnarok Hyōsuke Takatō

#	Year	| Grand Prize	| Gold Prize	| Silver Prize	| Dengeki Bunko Magazine Prize	| Honorable Mention
15	2008	Accel World Accel World is a Japanese light novel series written by Reki Kawahara and illustrated by Hima. It has been adapted into two manga series and it will be adapted into an anime.-Light novels:... Reki Kawahara	Parallel Lovers Tōka Shigatsu	Tokyo Vampire Finance Junjō Shindō	Gankyū Kitan Tomo Takaha	Kataribe Jinei Kōzaburō Yamaguchi
				Ro-Kyu-Bu! Ro-Kyu-Bu! is a Japanese sports comedy light novel series written by Sagu Aoyama with illustrations by Tinkle. The series is about a high school freshman Subaru Hasegawa who becomes the coach of a grade school's girls basketball team after the high school team's captain was suspected for being a lolicon... Sagu Aoyama	Sukima Onna (Habahiro) Hideto Maruyama

#	Year	| Grand Prize	| Gold Prize	| Silver Prize	| Media Works Bunko Prize	| Dengeki Bunko Magazine Prize	| Honorable Mention
16	2009	Bakumatsu Mahōshi: Mage Revolution Sōji Tanabu	Vandal Garōgai no Kiseki Mamoru Minagawa	Goshujin-san & Maid-sama: Tō-san Kaa-san, Uchi no Maid wa Zu ga Takai to Okorimasu Mudai Enokizu	(Ei) Amrita Mado Nozaki	Seiren Sangokushi Shūniko Nana	Natsu Koi Shigure Jun Ayasaki
					Taiyō no Akubi Kaoru Arima		Sora no Kanata Manabi Hishida
17	2010	Shirokuro Nekuro Ryōto Takama	Seishun Lariat!! Takamaru Semikawa	Maōjō wa Rokujō Hitoma! Satoshi Wakabara	Gyogan Lens Natsu Asaba	See-through!? Ifusei Amou	Not awarded
			Idolizing! Sakaki Hirozawa	Anti-literal Sūgaku Yagi Uzuki	Ocharake! Kuchibaya
					Ten'i no Nyōbō Mutsue Nakamachi
18	2011	Escape Speed Nozomu Kuoka	Anata no Machi no Toshi Denki! Shibai Kineko	Wizard & Warrior With Money Ghost Mikawa	Shinryaku Kyōshi Seijin UMA Edward Smith	Ashita kara Orera ga Yatte Kita Rin Takaki	Minutes: Ichi Bunkan de Sekai o Horobosu Hōhō ni Tsuite Yomoji Kiono
				Yūsha ni wa Katenai Shirō Kuta	Yamabiko no Iru Mado Nariko Narita

External links

• The Dengeki Novel Prize's official website