The 16th Iwate Manga Award Contest – Submissions
We are now accepting submissions!
You can submit your digital works via the online submission form!
Submission deadline:
Submitted works must arrive by Thursday September 24, 2026
Submissions are open for the general, 1-4 panel (koma) manga and illustration categories!!
［Theme］
An original work that has not been previously submitted or published, based on Iwate or anything Iwate-related.
*For international participants, submissions that feature any of the following will be accepted:
Iwate’s natural topography or popular spots, such as Mt. Iwate, Hiraizumi, the Sanriku Coast, etc.
Any local crafts or specialties of Iwate (Wanko soba, Nanbu tekki ironware, etc.)
Any characters, places, or objects that bear names related to locations in Iwate (such as Iwate-san, Iwate School, etc.)
See this link for references.
岩手県 - All About Iwate
［Category］
General category（Around 4-24 pages）
Grand prize (1 winner): ¥100,000 prize money + published on Comic Iwate WEB
Excellence award (3 winners): ¥50,000 prize money + published on Comic Iwate WEB
Student division (Currently enrolled school and university students are eligible)
Student division gold award (2 winners): bookstore gift card worth ¥30,000
Student division silver award (3 winners): bookstore gift card worth ¥10,000
1-4 panel manga category (2/3 panel manga also accepted)
General division (High school and above)
First prize (1 winner): ¥30,000 prize money + published on Comic Iwate WEB
Excellence award (2 winners): ¥10,000 prize money + published on Comic Iwate WEB
Junior division (middle school and below)
First prize (1 winner): bookstore gift card worth ¥5,000 + published on Comic Iwate WEB
Excellence award (3 winners): bookstore gift card worth ¥3,000 + published on Comic Iwate WEB
Illustration category (Multiple submissions accepted)
Digital illustration division (high school and above)
First prize (1 winner): ¥30,000 prize money
Excellence award (3 winners): ¥10,000 prize money
Illustration division (middle school and below)
First prize (1 winner): bookstore gift card worth ¥5,000
Excellence award (3 winners): bookstore gift card worth ¥3,000
［Entry requirements］
No prerequisites. Multiple entries allowed. Limited to
original manga that has not been previously submitted or published.
［Number of manuscript pages per submission］
General category: Around 4-24 pages.
1-4 panel manga category: One story per page (up to 16 pages).
Illustration category: Multiple submissions accepted (a minimum of one drawing must be submitted)
［Paper］
① In the general category, use B4 size manga paper or Kent paper.
Digital submissions must be in B4 manuscript size with an image quality of 600dpi or higher.
② The 1-4 panel manga category accepts any B4 size white paper (copy paper, drawing paper, manga manuscript paper etc.).
Please refer to the 4-panel manga template on our homepage. Color submissions are permitted.
1-3 panel manga can either be drawn to fit the scaling of the 4-panel manga category, or freely drawn in a size that is easy to draw.
Please submit only one 1-4 panel manga per page.
Panel layout is unrestricted provided that each work is one page.
For digital submissions, entries must be in B4 manuscript size with an image quality of 600dpi or higher.
※Print on B4 paper
Length of one full 4-panel manga: 270mm
Size of one panel: 58mm long x 85mm wide
Size of each story's title box: 18mm long x 85mm wide
③ For the digital illustration category (high school and above), canvas size B4 is recommended, with an image quality of 350dpi or higher.
Only illustrations created in a digital medium will be accepted.
For the illustration category (middle school and below), both digital and traditional paper submissions are accepted. Manuscript size B4 is recommended.
If you are creating a digital illustration, please use an image quality of 350dpi or higher.
【Manga submissions】
1) Traditional paper submissions
Please draw on the front side of a blank sheet of paper in India ink,
drawing ink, or black pen, and send it without folding the paper.
Drawings in pencil, light India ink, and ink in colors other than black will not be accepted in the general category.
in the general category. Color is permitted in the 1-4 panel manga and illustration (middle school and below) categories.
However, please write titles and any text in pencil.
If the text will cover any part of your drawing (outside of speech bubbles),
please attach tracing paper to your manga and write the text on top of it in pencil.
Make sure to write, in pencil, the page numbers in the margins of your drafts.
2) Digital submissions
Colors other than black are not permitted in the general category.
Color is permitted in the 1-4 panel manga, digital illustration (high school and above) and illustration (middle school and below) categories.
Please submit your digital submissions online via the form on the official website, or
mail an enclosed CD-R or DVD-R with both the manga files and a printable version.
The files must include a JPG or PDF file of your artwork with all the text in place,
as well as a PSD or TIFF file without the text.
【Submission language】
Submissions will be accepted in Japanese, English, French, and Chinese.
*If it is possible to have your draft translated into Japanese, we ask that you apply using the Japanese translation.
【Return of submissions】
① If you would like your submissions returned to you after the contest, please mark "yes" on the submission return question on the application form and include a self-addressed envelope with appropriate postage along with your submissions.
If a self-addressed envelope is not included with your submission, we will not be able to return your drafts.
② If you do not wish to have your submissions returned, please mark "no" on the submission return
question on the application form. You do not need to include an envelope or stamps with your submission.
③ We cannot return submissions from overseas. Please submit only photocopies of your artwork
when applying by traditional paper submission.
④ We will not be returning digital drafts that have been submitted via the online form.
【Application forms】
The application form can be found on the back of this leaflet, or printed from our website (photocopies also accepted).
After filling out the required information on the application form, please attach it to the back side of the first page of your submitted manga.
Please be sure to include a valid email address.
Group submissions via school email addresses are permitted.
Application forms from abroad should be filled out in English.
If you use a foreign language, please fill out the “Pen name” and “Full name” boxes in English or pinyin.
You do not have to fill out an application form if submitting digital entries
through the online submission form on the official website.
【Important points】
① Submitted works must not infringe on third-party copyrights,
author's rights, design rights, trademarks, or any other third-party rights.
If any claims of infringement of rights are received in relation to submitted works,
the applicant will bear complete and total responsibility.
Furthermore, in the event that infringement has occurred, or there is concern that it may have occurred,
any prizes awarded in relation to that work may be revoked.
② Prize winners grant the right, without further compensation,
to Iwate Prefecture that all or part of the winning works may be:
A) Reproduced, exhibited, televised, published in articles or otherwise used in order to announce the winners.
B) Iwate Prefecture may use the winning works on their event website or in print in order to promote this event.
C) Iwate Prefecture may reproduce the winning works as record of this event.
Prize winners also grant Iwate Prefecture the right to edit, translate, modify, and adapt winning works.
③ All or part of the winning works may be published and sold in stand-alone manga book volumes without further compensation.
④ If the applicant is a minor, they must receive the consent of their parent or guardian.
【Results Announcement & Awards Ceremony】
The final results will be released around early December, and an awards ceremony is planned to be held in January.
【Submission mailing address】
10-1 Uchimaru, Morioka-shi, Iwate, 020-8570 JAPAN
Iwate Prefecture Culture Promotion Division, Cultural Exchange Section
The 16th Iwate Manga Award Contest
【Inquiries】
iwatemangagp@gmail.com
Organizer: Iwate Prefecture
Joint Sponsor: MCL Morioka Joho Business & Design School