Kyoto International Creators Award 2026
- Organizer:
- City of Kyoto and the Kyoto International Manga Anime Fair Executive Committee; co-organized by Kyoto Computer Gakuin and The Kyoto College of Graduate Studies for Informatics; secretariat by MediBang.
- Deadline: August 31, 2026, 17:00 JST.
- Submission Categories:
- Comic Contest: story manga, open theme, no genre restrictions; MDP / JPG / PNG files under 30MB; accepted languages include Japanese, English, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese.
- Digital Anime Contest: original self-produced video works whose main visual parts are created using a computer; 2D and hand-drawn digital animation are accepted; submit via YouTube / Vimeo or similar video URL.
- Eligibility:
- Open regardless of nationality.
- Comic Contest: for aspiring manga creators aiming for a professional debut in Japan, or professionals not currently published in commercial magazines.
- Digital Anime Contest: for aspiring or professional digital animation creators; professionals may enter self-produced works. Overseas entries are welcome, but applicants must be able to communicate in Japanese; non-Japanese dialogue requires Japanese subtitles.
- Entry Fee: The Digital Anime Contest page explicitly states that there is no entry fee. The Comic Contest page does not list a separate entry-fee item; ART street’s basic registration/submission/publication functions are free. Prize payment transaction fees may be borne by winners.
- Awards & Benefits:
- Grand Prize: 1 winner, JPY 100,000 plus invitation to the Kyoto award ceremony.
- Second Prize / Excellence Award: 1 winner, JPY 50,000 plus invitation to the Kyoto award ceremony.
- Finalists / Honorable Mentions: 3 winners, JPY 10,000 each.
- Kyoto Award: 1 additional Kyoto-related work may be selected, JPY 10,000.
- Comic winners will be recommended to participating manga editorial departments at KYO-MAF; around 50 editorial departments may also review submissions, so non-winners may still receive scouting opportunities.
- Core Introduction: Kyoto International Creators Award 2026 is an international open call by Kyoto City for manga and animation creators. It is designed to help emerging creators gain exposure and potential professional debut opportunities through Kyoto, with two open-theme tracks: Comic Contest and Digital Anime Contest.
